2 tracks – Duration: 11 min. 32 sec.
Swedish melodic Death Metal outfit ETERNAL AUTUMN is rooted in the nineties. They were once a duo, but now they are a quartet and recorded this new EP as the successor to The Werewolf Diaries EP from 2019. Jocke Rydbjer mastered To Tame the Impaler at Wolfden Studios in 2020. ETERNAL AUTUMN starts where they left off on the previous EP. As a result, you might catch similar references like in the review for the predecessor.
The title track, which spans over 7 minutes and which is my favorite one of this EP, is as epic and majestic as IMMORTAL’s Tragedies Blows At Horizon (sic) and repeats the same BATHORY-like addictive riff (A Fine Day to Die) over and over so that the hook nests deep into your subconscious. The grating vocals have that typical Swedish grain and meet between AT THE GATES, GATES OF ISHTAR, THE CROWN, THE EVERDAWN, NECROPHOBIC, and DISSECTION. ETERNAL AUTUMN delivers its business card with a succulent traditional Heavy Metal solo. From catchy rhythm guitars over a clean intermezzo to dueling leads, the varied arrangements and the structured compositions blend adrenaline & melancholy and evoke EDGE OF SANITY’s Crimson and DARK TRANQUILLITY’s The Gallery. The tune builds up to a finale yet fades out quite peacefully. Spot on!
The Eminent Grey extends on these ingredients with a mid-tempo riff to bang your head to, impending drums of war with some double-bass kicks, melodic strumming, an apt solo halfway through, all accompanied by John’s barking. L’éminence grise clocks off at less than 4 minutes with a twin guitar lead as the outro.
Like on the previous EP, tattoo-artist Henrik Gallon hand-crafted the theatrical, macabre cover art with a fine-grained, black and white illustration of a skeleton with a human mask – quite fitting for this pandemic era.
ETERNAL AUTUMN confirms the formula of their re-invented and recognizable sound, which was already audible on The Werewolf Diaries, on To Tame the Impaler. Fans of melodic Death Metal, will dig this EP for sure, but with a complete line-up in place, what we need is a full-length album, and if they manage to pack that with songs with this level of quality, it potentially could become an instant melodeath classic.
8.6 out of 10 skulls
THRONE OF ABSENCE 