From Autumn To Ashes Holding a Wolf by the Ears

[ 8,895 views ]

Reviewed by: Jeff Treppel   //   Published: 5/17/2007

If you're looking for a representative specimen of emocorus Americanus, look no further than From Autumn to Ashes. It's all there: screaming verses followed by syrupy choruses, punky attitude, thrash riffs, crunching breakdowns, and deep, heartfelt vocals about something or other. Really, Holding a Wolf by the Ears should have been tossed in the "to sell" pile along with Scars of Tomorrow and It Dies Today. But, lo and behold, this is actually pretty good!

Maybe it's because they booted out their vocalist, went the Genesis route, and became a power trio with the drummer doubling on throat, leading to reinvigoration and songs about invisible touching. Maybe it's because they have a focused sound. But most likely it's because of old-fashioned good songwriting. The parts that are supposed to be pretty are pretty, the parts that are supposed to rock, rock, and the parts that are supposed to be catchy are catchy. It's that simple. Sounds easy enough, but you could build a giant reflective surface for an orbiting space laser out of the CDs from bands that fail to accomplish that.

Right from opener "Deth Kult Social Club," the band comes on like they have something to prove. It's probably the harshest song on the album, with agonized screaming, dissonant math metal parts, and some serious shredding during the bridge. Everything else sounds very Fuse friendly, and not in a bad way. "Daylight Slaving" seems like their attempt at a big screamo radio single, with mostly clean singing and a "standing on the rooftop and shouting into space while the camera revolves around the singer from a 45° upward angle" chorus. "Delusions of Grandeur," on the other hand, would be perfect for a "singer alone in a room, throwing pillows around violently" video. And the rest of the albumMore of the same. It's consistent all the way through, even if there aren't many other standouts.

Bottom Line: You've heard a lot of this before, so if you're looking for something different, look elsewhere. However, if you want some new emotional metalcore that doesn't suck, your quest has come to an end. Plus, wolves are cool.

Tweet