Keep Telling Myself It's Alright by ASHES dIVIDE Island

Product Description: "The Stone" debut single by ASHES dIVIDE achieves rock radio's rarest double play, as it is named Most-Added at the Active Rock and Modern Rock formats for the second week in a row - and debuts inside the Top 40 at both formats: #24-bullet on the Active Rock side and #25-bullet at Modern Rock.

"The Stone" is the first single from Keep Telling Myself It's Alright, the first album from ASHES dIVIDE, which arrives in stores April 8th on Island Records, a division of Island Def Jam Music Group. ASHES dIVIDE is the new band formed by lead guitarist, singer and songwriter Billy Howerdel - founder/producer of multi-platinum group A Perfect Circle, the band he led with Tool frontman Maynard Keenan through two platinum and one gold record.

Keep Telling Myself It's Alright, Howerdel's long-awaited first solo project, has been the subject of countless blogs and chatter at his website for a year and a half. In last week's Entertainment Weekly, "Your Next Obsession" polled film and television music supervisors on upcoming album picks, and Dana Sand (of Steve Carell's Dan In Real Life) commended ASHES dIVIDE: "So very dreamy rock with a '90s feel."

Howerdel produced and engineered the new album sessions in Los Angeles, playing guitar, bass, and keyboard parts. Longtime collaborator Danny Lohner (APC, Nine Inch Nails) helped out with the recording process, while drummer Josh Freese (APC), and Keenan's son Devo appear on the album. Other contributors include Johnette Napolitano (Concrete Blonde), Matt Skiba (Alkaline Trio), and Paz Lenchantin. Mixing took place in London by innovative Brit producer Alan Moulder, remotely monitored by Howerdel back in L.A. Moulder is known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, My Bloody Valentine, and fellow Island band the Killers' two albums.

New Jersey-born Billy Howerdel is a self taught musician who started out doing theatrical stage lighting. He took to the road as a guitar technician for many bands, among them David Bowie, Guns N' Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, and Tool. Howerdel and Keenan became friends years earlier while crossing paths on tour. But it was not until the recording sessions for Tool's 1996 album Ænima that the two planted the seeds which would become A Perfect Circle circa 1999.

APC released three groundbreaking and critically acclaimed albums on Virgin Records: their RIAA platinum debut, Mer de Noms (May 2000) which entered at #4 Soundscan with 188,000 copies and placed three songs on the Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts ("3 Libras," "Judith," and "The Hollow"); the platinum Thirteenth Step (September 2003) which debuted at #2 Sound¬scan on 231,000 first week sales (with the #1 Rock track and video "Weak and Powerless," followed by "The Outsider" and "Blue"); and the RIAA gold eMOTIVe (November 2004), an overtly political album released on Presidential election day, primarily cover versions of political material including John Lennon's "Imagine," Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks," Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On," Black Flag's "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie," and more. Two weeks later, the CD + DVD package aMOTION was released, a collection of all their video clips on one disc, and nine remixes of songs on the other disc.

Customer Reviews

4 stars Great effort from a very talented muisian!
I first heard this band just before going to an STP show that they were opening up for. When I first heard the CD prior to the show, I wasn't very impressed, dismissing them as an acceptable opening band.

After hearing them live, and listening to the CD a few more times, this album really grew on me. The songs really have some depth, both musically & lyrically, and each time I listen to them they just get better.

Anyone dismissing Billy Howerdel's first solo effort as weak follow-up to A Perfect Circle, or saying that it's not as edgy as that effort clearly hasn't listened to this album. Billy has done a great job on vocals within the context of the music, and it's unfair to dismiss his vocal abilities compared to Maynard's (VERY FEW people could compare to that in this genre of music). Take this for what it is without comparing it to anything else: a great rock album with some real substance.

I can't wait till ASHES dIVIDE starts working on their next one!

4 stars It's Alright
Never being a big fan of 'Tool' or 'A Perfect Circle', I would have never really even given this a chance. I kind of fell upon it while searching on the internet and listened to a few clips and actually liked it. While others love 'Tool' and 'A Perfect Circle', I just can't get past Maynard Keenan's voice. And that includes other groups out there too. While I might like the musical aspect I just can't get past the voice and Keenan's is one that I just don't like and the use of the f word just kills any song by means of the lyricist lack of maturity in song writing and not being able to come up with anything better. With 'Ashes Divide' Howerdel delivers a somewhat moody album, but with enough upbeat on the music end to keep it interesting. Is there anything here that truly blows you away. Probably not, but each track delivers to keep you interested. For me, I like this album, but I don't have any preconceived notions on what it should or shouldn't sound like and maybe that's a good thing. I can listen to this on its own and enjoy it without saying it should sound like 'A Perfect Circle' which I wouldn't want because then why bother. Howerdel has a great voice even though others will disagree with me here, but that's my listening opinion. I like it and, for me, that's all that matters. I love the new Filter album too while others don't because I'm not trying to make it sound like their first album. Get this and enjoy.

5 stars Billy Howerdel creates another great CD
To start, my favorite band is tool, which pushed me towards a perfect circle. So when Billy Howerdel created ASHES dIVIDE, I heard the first single, "the stone", and like it. Then, I saw them at rock on the range, (side note: greatest concert that I've seen) and knew that the one song was not a fluke. The rest of the CD has a sound more like the first APC CD, Mer de Noms. I've had the CD for a month and it sounds different, which is always a plus. Again, if you follow tool and APC, you'll like this one.

5 stars This is a Great Album, it Really is
This is a new project from A Perfect Circle's guitarist Billy Howerdel. It gives him a chance to break away from A Perfect Circle's front-man (who's is very dominating) Maynard James Keenan, and do his own thing, showcasing his own talent. The album opens with "Stripped Away", which is an atmospheric and dreamy track, but contains a heavy thumpin' bass line you can't ignore. Howerdel not only sings, but also plays the bass, guitar and keyboards, showing a vast array of talents, it's no wonder why Maynard wanted to collaborate with him. Howerdel's vocals are smooth and high, yet in a sweet way.

The overall style (musically) of the album reminds me of '90's alternative rock, but done in a more modern way. The songs are deep and cleverly written, there's nothing shallow about a single one. It's not a happy album either, but Howerdel's way with the keyboards and ambient percussion make an interesting mix. You can tell he is digging deep within himself on "Keep Telling Myself It's Alright". Also on songs like the slow and sexy "Too Late" and "Denial Waits", which both radiant with sincerity. I love tons of alternative rock that was put out in the '90's, so it's nice to hear an album that is a modern version of that era.

5 stars Just as expected
Billy Howerdel shows another side of his musical Talent.

This is NOT an APC's album, it has it's own personality. Even though there's a couple of songs that do sound like APC ("Denial Waits, The Stone") the whole record developes his own identity.

Is just a beautiful an organic record. Great efford from Howerdel and cheers for his talent!

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