The second group that I discovered while surfing from artist to artist on spotify is 'Autumn's Grief' which is a Finnish project, created by keyboardist 'Ville Skön' and guitarist and bassist 'Santtu Rosén' a couple of years ago. At the time, the two musicians who are part of the gothic metal band 'Dying Daylight', were looking for an interpreter for their new compositions and the singer 'Noora Virtanen' was chosen. Having become a trio, they recorded three singles and their first album 'The Dead Don't Smile' was released in October 2021. A little over a year later, it's the turn of their second album 'Dead by the Dawn' to see the light of day. Classified as symphonic metal, a first listen to this latest baby from the Finns brings out rather melancholy atmospheres, the metal side brought by the saturated guitars often being set back from the more present symphonic arrangements. We think in particular of artists deploying a rather soft melodic style like 'Imperia' or 'Evanescance' or 'Tarja' for the best known.
'The Tide' welcomes us on a mid-tempo with alternating intensities highlighting a first catchy chorus, the keyboards of 'Ville Skön' softening the whole then, 'The Sea of Apathy' continues in a slow rhythmic with orchestral arrangements put forward and the melody can think of certain compositions of 'Tarja'. With 'Under the Belt of Orion', the metal side comes out only with a few more heavy guitar riffs and we let ourselves be carried away again by a harmonious melody benefiting from a nice pianistic break in the second part. Make way for the magnificent ballad 'Hanging in Midair', highlighting the clear vocals of 'Noora Virtanen' which brings a beautiful softness to this title, then, 'The Clearing' and 'The Dragonfly' slightly harden the tone with two energetic compositions, the first with a rhythm section alternating between energetic passages and other more sedate ones, and the second, on an up-tempo setting in motion the headbanging machine and benefiting from new catchy melodic lines. Follows the short 'In the Presence of the Sun' which, with disturbing keyboards and vocals, brings an original instrumental break, then, 'There Was a Light' moves away from metal and delicately tickles our eardrums with its sweet melody embellished with very beautiful vocal arrangements. We find a more classic scheme with 'They Talk To Me' which highlights a marked rhythm, the vocals of 'Noora Virtanen' inviting us to beat time, then the eponymous title of the album delicately ends this beautiful album with a new ballad that travels between quiet parts and other more energetic ones, the whole benefiting from very beautiful melodic lines on which 'Noora Virtanen' comes one last time to fill us with her melodious singing.
In summary, the Finns of Autumn's Grief' offer us a very beautiful album offering a moderate symphonic metal with melodies that we appropriate very quickly and filled with a beautiful delicacy, thanks in particular to a singer who offers us vocal performances well in phase with the refined atmospheres deployed, which intends 'Dead by the Dawn' to a whole audience favouring the symphonic side to the energy of saturated guitars... | |
