AUTUMN

Altitude

Metal Blade/ CD 2009

Since the beginning of their musical journey AUTUMN have been continuously compared to THE GATHERING. It's no wonder, because they come from the same country (the Netherlands), play music that can be generally described as a mixture of rock, gothic and metal influences, and have an exceptionally talented female singer in the line up. As opposed to thousands of THE GATHERING worthless clones, AUTUMN's music has always had a very positive connotations with the former act of Anneke van Giersbergen, especially with the most creative and fruitful period in their career (somewhere between "How To Measure A Planet?" and "Souvenirs"). Released in 2007 „My New Time” helped them to establish themselves as one of most promising acts coming from the Land of Tulips. On the newest offering AUTUMN brought things even further. Sounds good?

The fourth full length album of that Groningen- based sextet entitled "Altitude" is a piece of extremely ambitious, complex and very intriguing music. I'd even say this is one of the most interesting and original releases in that genre I've heard for years. In fact, a range of influences featured on this CD is impressive. From sophisticated progressive art rock and avant-garde elements, through gloomy gothic and metal areas, to some trip rock and psychedelic accents, the album covers a lot of various musical grounds (almost everything that happened in rock music over the past 30 years can be found on this CD) without losing a sense of unity and cohenrency in the compositions. Usually I don't like to listen to that sort of „all-in-one” projects for one particular reason- most of them seem to be just forced and overproduced. Holland's AUTUMN is the exception. Their music is extremely rich, multi-layered but very easy to get into, at the same time. If you prefer complexity, there's a lot o discover on „Altitude”. But there's also the other, more useful option. Especially for those who don't want to spend their time on analyzing the structures, full of intricate arrangements, discords, rhythms and breaks. You can just push the play and let the music flow through you body and mind. Every single track featured on this CD has its own thrilling story to tell, every single detail has a place in the overall scheme. Each note played on this CD is meaningful. The entire album is very ambitious in its form yet still listenable from the beginning till the end. It's experimental and unique but in a very good way, without any abrupt changes or sonic nonsenses.

I should also say here a few words about Marjan Welman who replaced band's previous vocalist Nienke de Jong. Without any doubts Marjan's warm and really sensual voice is one of the strongest points of „Altitude”. She did a tremendous job on this album and proved herself to be one of the most interesting female singers in heavy atmospheric music. Marjan's outstanding vocal skills combined with charisma and presence should help her to reach the peak reserved only for the highest caliber of artists, very soon (wanna bet?). As far as I know in Holland Marjan is already considered to be one of the most promising vocalist. I think she could easily replace Anneke in THE GATHERING but hopefully it will never happen because of AUTUMN. I really look forward to their next releases.

Nowadays music is a market commodity. Commercialism plays the leading role in it and quantity has become more important than quality. AUTUMN don't give a shit about it. They are entirely dedicated to the spreading of ambitious, progressive music culture and it can be heard in every single tune of their art. I'm delighted. This album is a good choice, even for those who don't like female fronted metal. Don't be a sucker and liberate your mind. This is a real jewel.

11/12