The Witherfall hurricane is back.
Created in 2013, the band composed of Joseph Michael (vocals/keyboards, Sanctuary, ex-White Wizzard), Jake Dreyer (guitar, Iced Earth, ex-White Wizzard), Anthony Crawford (bass) and Marco Minnemann (drums, Vindictiv, Aeonsgate, ex-Ephel Duath, ex-Necrophagist), their new recruit, is ready to unveil us The Curse of Autumn, its third album. On stage, they play with keyboardist Alex Nasla, and their artwork is signed by Kristian “Necrolord” Wåhlin (Bathory, At the Gates, Dissection, Dark Funeral, Tiamat…).
After a short introduction named Deliver Us Into The Arms Of Eternal Silence on which musicians give us a glimpse of a hefty Progressive Heavy/Power Metal, The Last Scar begins. The track is fast and epic, melting diverse influences and technicality hints, as into instrumental part as about vocals, which come from solid clean sounding to high-pitched parts or even screams. The chorus is clearly catchy, leads are piercings as well as the groovy As I Lie Awake. This song is more melancholic but as worked as the previous one, letting instruments develop this cold and seizing universe. We go to the soft Another Face, a quite peaceful song on which bass holds a very important role.The instrument is perfectly audible on every songs, but it gives this precise composition some energy spurts.
Tempest is the next one, and even if the sound is soft, we feel energy only asks to surface from those worked and jerky riffs. Musicians don’t need too much time to offer a heavy and fast sound, even interspersed by quieter, more dissonant and airy parts. A fast transition with Curse of Autumn, a short composition on which the singer captivates us with its clean voice, then he lets place to instruments as well as The Unyielding Grip Of Each Passing Day, an instrumental song on which a heavy rhythmic is the basis to piercing and fast-paced leads. The Other Side of Fear is next, picking the composition’s heady elements up, while adding a fix of rage thanks to this powerful voice. The song is both a delicacy for music lovers, and a soundtrack for a frantic headbang session, where all the band’s music aspects melt together.
The tempo slows down with The River, a soft Power ballad on which musicians fill their rhythmic with emotions, melancholy and piercing sonorities, also allowing the singer to play with his vocal abilities. Then the band offers us … And They All Blew Away, the longest composition of their entire discography. Whatever you like into Witherfall’s music, you will find into this long and intense composition, going from melancholic vocals to a complex instrumental, a heavy rhythmic, howlings, crushing languor, and spiking leads. After this masterpiece, the band closes this album with Ling Time, a soft acoustic composition that let musicians play with their sensibility.
Witherfall is more and more impressive through time. Whether the previous albums already set the bar high, The Curse of Autumn allows them to the rank of Progressive Power Metal titans. The band’s influences are many, and they let them do exactly what they want to do where they want to.
95/100
