Well last time I said I would review my favorite album of the year and here it is...The Autumn Offering - Embrace the Gutter. This album is very similar to early Shadows Fall or All That Remains. The cover says something about them being like Pantera...uh no actually I think they might be better. That's right I said it. This album is pretty solid from start to finish...minus that stupid 34 second intro they call a song. Why do bands feel the need to have an intro and outro instrumental 'song'?
Ok breakdown of the music. In a nutshell, this band combines the riffs of Shadows Fall (or any New England band nowadays), the solos of any classic thrash band out there, and the breakdowns of Unearth or Killswitch Engage. As for the vocals, think growling screams...not too cookie monster-ish, but nothing clean.
'Decay' starts off the album and to be honest it sounds like your standard metalcore song complete with breakdown and then it pulls out this pretty good solo.
'The Yearning' starts off with a nice little riff and then a cool little lead, which catches me totally off guard. A catchier chorus and a beautiful solo/bridge and an ending that has a cool riff breakdown that makes it 2 solid songs in a row for this album.
'Embrace the Gutter' this is the video I saw which got me into this band. I saw the solo part in the video and went nuts. I hadn't heard a solo like that since Nevermore's This Godless Endeavor. Anyway, the song is the catchiest of the album, chorus wise. The song sounds like it could have come off of a God Forbid album, but the solo....oh my!! Seriously, I thought I was listening to a Megadeth circa R.I.P. era song. That is not an overstatement. Go to their myspace and listen to it.
'Ghost' is the next song which is pretty solid, probably my second favorite. If you thought Embrace the Gutter was catchy, then listen to this song. The drumming is insane and it blends so well into the chorus amazing. And then out of nowhere they give you a classic Iron Maiden sounding solo...yeah I said Iron Maiden. Then it goes into a sick breakdown that would make Unearth jealous to end the song.
You can see where this is going...each song is pretty killer. Tight solos throughout the album just listent to No End in Sight if you want another Megadeth style solo. 'Walk the Line' continues into the final instrumental track 'The Final Cut'
Obviously, I like the album. It blends the two styles of metal pretty well. To me they are up their with Shadows Fall, All That Remains, and Trivium that can play this thrash metalcore style. If you like any of those bands...get this album now.
Next time...how about my top albums of 2006.
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