WITHERFALL Curse Of Autumn | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

   

Released by Century Media Records on March 5th, 2021

Quick Background

Formed in 2013, by Jake Dreyer (guitar / ex-Iced Earth) and Joseph Michael (vocals and keys / Sanctuary) and without a label behind them, Witherfall released the great debut Nocturnes And Requiems in 2017. The Los Angeles-based dark melodic metallers joined forces with Century Media Records for A Prelude to Sorrow released in 2018. In addition the band today consists of bassist Anthony Crawford and drummer Marco Minnemann. It's hard to describe the sound of Witherfall . There's a lot of Progressive Power Metal, but also Traditional Heavy Metal plus some Thrash/Speed metal in the mix as well. The one thing is certain, those guys don't limit themselves to genre labels.

Curse Of Autumn

Curse Of Autumn is their 3rd full length studio album. It consists of ten tracks clocking in at 54 minutes. Jon Schaffer (Iced Earth) produced the album with Michael and Dreyer. A tasteful acoustic guitar intro builds up quickly to some heaviness and soon enough the first voracious guitar riff of the album leads us into the heavy track "The Last Scar". It's almost like as if Malmsteen was part of the very early Iced Earth albums. From the get go Michael shows his range and versatility. Some harsh heavy vocals but also melodic parts and high pitched screams. All in one song and without being over the top. At this point we also already get confirmation that Dreyer is a monster on the guitar. Impressive speed and technique which culminates with the instrumental "The Unyielding Grip of Each Passing Day". The musicianship is also superb on the rhythm section with Crawford and Minnemann. The production is clear and the mix allows us to appreciate all the details and instruments.

Overall, one of the things I dig about Witherfall is their creative freedom and lack of boundaries or rules. The songs are different from each other, they take different genre paths, use different instruments and techniques, and there are no rules for song lengths or structures. Nothing is really conventional or formulated. The song "Tempest" is a good example. In the middle section if I am not mistaken Crawford uses a fretless bass and over it Dreyer plays some cool Spanish influenced guitar. How great is that? "Another Face" shows the melodic and mid-tempo side of the band and it's the perfect blend between Edge of Thorns-era Savatage and Something Wicked-era Iced Earth. But I must say that as a Power Metal enthusiast, probably my favorite song is "As I Lie Awake". Here after this groovy and distinct intro, the band goes more into the melodic power metal area with a Verse/Bridge/Catchy Chorus structure that will be tattooed in your head. Yes, anthemic and goose bump inducer, I can only hope to see this live one day. But there's more, the heavier side of the band is show on "The Other Side of Fear" for example. At moments, Witherfall also reminds a bit of Blind Guardian or 70's prog rock, the acoustic "The River" being an example of it. And if all of that wasn't enough the album delights the prog nerds within us with the almost 9-min aforementioned "Tempest"  and closes with the 15-min epic "...And They All Blew Away". 

The Picky Guy

I don't have a lot to complain here and I do like the album from start to finish. If I'd stretch to find some flaws, I'd say that some moments sound too much like Iced Earth (e.g. "Another Face") and the title track can leave me with some disappointment as it's so short that gave me the feeling of unfinished. 

Wrap Up Opinion 

Witherfall's Curse Of Autumn is one of my favorite albums of 2021 so far. A very good album that easily deserves the 85/100 I am giving it. Witherfall executes excellent modern progressive power metal. It's dark and heavy and yet melodic and catchy. Can't go wrong with it.

SCORE: 85/100

Genre: Progressive Metal

Released by Century Media Records on March 5th, 2021

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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