Ascend (album)

Ascend is the sixth studio album by guitarist Greg Howe, released on May 4, 1999 through Shrapnel Records. According to Howe, this is his least favourite album due in part to creative differences which arose with keyboardist Vitalij Kuprij during the making of the latter's 1997 album High Definition. In the liner notes, Howe explains his decision to revisit the neoclassical style of his earlier work, however clarifying that "by no means is this a reflection of where I'm headed with my music in the future." The fifth track, "La Villa Strangiato", is a cover of an instrumental by progressive rock band Rush, from their 1978 album Hemispheres.