UK band TALES OF AUTUMN started out back in 2014, and once their current line-up solidified they went out and focused on becoming a good live band, a choice that have earned them some plaudits in the last couple of years. “In Madness We Trust” is the debut album by this UK foursome, and was self released in the summer of 2018.
The PR firm the band have hired services from attempts to market this band as a progressive rock band. And while progressive rock is something of an in sound these days, for my sake I feel that it is doing a disservice to the band to try to market them in such a direction. As Tales of Autumn, in my book at least, strikes me as a traditional 80’s style heavy metal band more than anything else.
Their take on the style is one with a wee bit of sophistication to it though, which isn’t a bad thing at all. In general, they will alternate between gentler passages and darker, harder ones on just about all the songs. The former often being light and always elegant, revolving around plucked and wandering guitar motifs, while the latter will alternate between more chopped, dramatic riff cascades and more flowing, fluctuating slower paced riffs.
This is a band that knows how to use both stark and subtle contrasts to create and maintain tension, and they have a good ear for effective and interesting transitions as well. And while they do flavor some arrangements with details that will be recognizable for a progressive rock fan, those are embellishments first and foremost – at least at this stage. I do get the impression that this is a band that wants to hone in closer on progressive rock though, and it will be interesting to see if that is something that will shine through when their next album appears.
A final detail worth mentioning here are the vocals. Lead singer Stefanos Karantonis comes from the Bruce Dickinson and James LaBrie school of vocalists, which isn’t a style that is universally enjoyed. In this case the vocals are with more control and less siren tendencies, but also with a wee bit more vibrato. And while I generally feel the vocals fits the music rather well, this aspect of the band’s output will be a make or break for quite a few potential fans I imagine.
Still, if well planned and well executed traditional, melodic heavy metal of the kind that was popular some 30 years ago is something that tends to rock your boat, Tales of Autumn is a new band providing you with more listening options in this department. A fine debut album in my book, and one clearly worth a check by the presumed key audience.
My rating: 78/100
