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autumnbride undying
Artist: Autumn Bride
Title: Undying
Genre: Symphonic Metal
Release Date: 30th April 2021
Label: Stamping Ground Records / Preiser Records


Album Review

Vienna based Metal band AUTUMN BRIDE recently released their debut album ‘Undying’ after their single ‘Guardian Angels’ was highly acclaimed by the Metal scene back in 2019. The band says that they are influenced by PARADISE LOST, NIGHTWISH, BLACK SABBATH, EVANESCENCE or TYPE O NEGATIVE and that they merged their favourite sounds into their own vision of Symphonic Metal.

The journey through their debut release starts with ‘The Path’ a rather standard Rock song that has no obvious influences of Symphonic Metal. The vocals are performed in a for a Symphonic Metal album rather dark timbre and the drums have a solid but unsurprising pattern, so if I hadn’t had information about the band, I won’t get the idea that they aim to join the Metal scene. You might have heard ‘Fear & Devotion’ somewhere, for it was released as the second single back in 2020 and brought the band more and more attention. I was reminded of Tarja a bit, when I enjoyed ‘Moonlit Waters’ that is a lot more prone to Symphonic elements and would have served the band as a better opener for the new album. Vocalist Suzy Pointinger puts her range of vocals on full display now and masters the lyrics without any audible effort. and the guitars and drums have a more driving rhythm that will encourage the audience to move their heads during a live performance.

A real Metal attitude comes with ‘Shadows’, where drum blasts and intense guitar riffing give the band a real cool attitude. It seems that the band recorded the ballade ‘Monsters’ to prove that Suzy has not to hide her singing abilities and is able to perform emotional songs as well as those that will steer the masses in the audience. The chorus is a bit less challenging than the vocal parts, but together with the very emotional guitar parts and some strings in the background, they make ‘Monsters’ one of the best songs on the album. A song for headbangers and Rockers is ‘Ravenqueen’ solid guitarwork and straightforward drums will give the headbangers in the audience a chance for a good workout. Now that we have reached the half-time of the album, I have to raise the question where the typical orchestral elements of Symphonic Metal have been buried. So far, I haven’t found them, but maybe the best is yet to come.

The album’s title song ‘Undying’ comes as a more or less mid-tempo Metal song with rather rough vocals parts (but no growls, don’t worry) but once more the drums are far behind what the bands musical influences lay down on their albums. Maybe drummer Max Fingernagel should listen through PARADISE LOST’s latest release ‘Obsidian’ that is a sheer blast of sophisticated drumming, before AUTUMN BRIDE will work on their next album. With ‘All Of The Lights’ the band has a strong focus of the chorus, that once more shows that Suzy can master the higher tones although her regular singing voice is rather dark, which is a welcome and rare one in the Metal scene, where most of the female vocalists tend either to growls or to very high pitched vocals. The album ends with ‘Forelsket’ once more a mid-tmepo song with melancholic parts, mid-tempo guitars and chorus that will see the fans sing a long. Now the music is over and I still haven’t found orchestral parts.

All in all, the album sounds more like Goth Metal, of course you can find obvious hints to NIGHTWISH-like song structures and themes, but the mid-tempo songs, that often come with the same elements of good guitar hooklines, sing-a-long choruses, melancholic vocals and lyrics won’t intrigue a Symphonic Metal audience. The drums are often boring, the simple structures are far from being the driving force behind the other instruments. Don’t get me wrong, the album is nice to listen to, the vocals are brilliant and Suzy’s voice is a unique one worth listening to and the guitar hooklines well done but the album feels monotonous after a while, for there is a lack of change in tempo and pattern. The album is nice to have for those who like up and coming bands from Europe, but it is not a must have for fans of Symphonic Metal.


Tracklist

01. The Path
02. Fear & Devotion
03. Moonlit Waters
04. Shadows
05. Monsters
06. Ravenqueen
07. Guardian Angels
08. Undying
09. All Of The Lights
10. Forelsket


Line-up

Suzy Pointinger – Vocals
Max Fingernagel – Drums
Alex Schmid – Guitar
Ben Pauswek – Bass


Website

https://www.autumn-bride.com / www.facebook.com/AutumnBrideBand


Cover Picture

autumnbride undying


Rating

Music: 7.5
Sound: 7.5
Total: 7.5 / 10




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