Autumnblaze
Every Sun is Fragile
Pulverised Records
2013
Autumnblaze is a German goth/heavy rock band which started out in 1999 and have since made a name for themselves, but never actually managed to make a breakthrough. “Every Sun is Fragile” is their sixth full length release and it’s the sort of album that the average Katatonia and/or Anathema fan will enjoy.
When you have an album entitled “Every Sun is Fragile” by a band called Autumnblaze, it’s a safe bet that there won’t be a lot of cheerful, carefree and up-tempo tracks in it. On the one hand, to the band’s credit, none of the tracks ever gets too gloomy, and therefore they never get too boring. But on the other hand, we are dealing with a 52 minute album mostly comprised of sad, slow songs so the attention of the listener is bound to decline from time to time. However, this is a way less sad and gloomy record than their previous work.
All in all though, “Every Sun is Fragile” is a pretty decent record, with some pretty good songs. The first song there, aptly entitled “Opening”, is an excellent introduction to the record. An instrumental track that starts out gently and ends up packing a kick so that “New Ghost in Town” can follow. Here, we are dealing with a powerful, contemporary power ballad with just a hint of progressive rock elements (definitely one of the highlights of the album).
After that, “Invisible Fields” has a promising beginning with an interesting dark atmosphere, but sadly it gets boring right after the first chorus mostly because of the overdramatic vocals.
After that, it’s time for Autumnblaze to sing in their native tongue. Let me just say that “Im Spiegel” (“In the Mirror”) is not my cup of tea. Something in this song really puts me off and it’s not the German lyrics. It has a certain 80’s pop sounding flair to it that does not sit well with me.
Then, there is “Mein Engel, Der Aus Augen Flieβt” (“My Angel, Who Flows from the Eyes”) which features a mix of English and German lyrics. Even though there is nothing obviously wrong with this track I found it highly predictable and therefore I can’t say that I enjoyed it all that much.
Right after the middle of the album, we find the song that the record is named after. “Every Sun is Fragile” is clearly the ace up Autumnblaze’s sleeve; a melodic, melancholic tune with a catchy chorus and a powerful, emotional finish.
The seventh track is “Cold Soul” and it begins equally melancholically with the rest of them, but with a combination of clean & brutal vocals and with a back bone that you just realize it was missing from the rest of the album.
Next in line is “How I Learned to Burn My Teardrops”, a pretty decent slow jam which, much like its title, is too long and sounds just a bit pretentious. It starts out with an acoustic guitar and soft drums and slowly builds up to the electric guitar finale. The problem is that it builds up a little longer than it should (the track is 5:41 long).
Second to last is “A Place for Paper Diamonds”, an elaborate and full of ups and downs song once again with clean and brutal vocals, as well as electric and acoustic guitars that manages to bore you at times only to thrill you the next moment. Upon the third hearing, I can honestly say that I enjoyed it.
Finally, there is “Verglimmt” (“Smoulders”). Perplexed and highly emotional as it is, it catches your attention and it doesn’t let go, that is if you can speak German or you don’t mind not having a clue what the hell the guy is singing about.
At the end of the day, if you judge each song from “Every Sun is Fragile” separately they are all fine if you like the gloomy, sad, slow stuff of bands like Katatonia, Anathema, Opeth and late Sentenced. But it’s true that the album, as a whole, does tend to drag on.
When you have an album entitled “Every Sun is Fragile” by a band called Autumnblaze, it’s a safe bet that there won’t be a lot of cheerful, carefree and up-tempo tracks in it. On the one hand, to the band’s credit, none of the tracks ever gets too gloomy, and therefore they never get too boring. But on the other hand, we are dealing with a 52 minute album mostly comprised of sad, slow songs so the attention of the listener is bound to decline from time to time. However, this is a way less sad and gloomy record than their previous work.
All in all though, “Every Sun is Fragile” is a pretty decent record, with some pretty good songs. The first song there, aptly entitled “Opening”, is an excellent introduction to the record. An instrumental track that starts out gently and ends up packing a kick so that “New Ghost in Town” can follow. Here, we are dealing with a powerful, contemporary power ballad with just a hint of progressive rock elements (definitely one of the highlights of the album).
After that, “Invisible Fields” has a promising beginning with an interesting dark atmosphere, but sadly it gets boring right after the first chorus mostly because of the overdramatic vocals.
After that, it’s time for Autumnblaze to sing in their native tongue. Let me just say that “Im Spiegel” (“In the Mirror”) is not my cup of tea. Something in this song really puts me off and it’s not the German lyrics. It has a certain 80’s pop sounding flair to it that does not sit well with me.
Then, there is “Mein Engel, Der Aus Augen Flieβt” (“My Angel, Who Flows from the Eyes”) which features a mix of English and German lyrics. Even though there is nothing obviously wrong with this track I found it highly predictable and therefore I can’t say that I enjoyed it all that much.
Right after the middle of the album, we find the song that the record is named after. “Every Sun is Fragile” is clearly the ace up Autumnblaze’s sleeve; a melodic, melancholic tune with a catchy chorus and a powerful, emotional finish.
The seventh track is “Cold Soul” and it begins equally melancholically with the rest of them, but with a combination of clean & brutal vocals and with a back bone that you just realize it was missing from the rest of the album.
Next in line is “How I Learned to Burn My Teardrops”, a pretty decent slow jam which, much like its title, is too long and sounds just a bit pretentious. It starts out with an acoustic guitar and soft drums and slowly builds up to the electric guitar finale. The problem is that it builds up a little longer than it should (the track is 5:41 long).
Second to last is “A Place for Paper Diamonds”, an elaborate and full of ups and downs song once again with clean and brutal vocals, as well as electric and acoustic guitars that manages to bore you at times only to thrill you the next moment. Upon the third hearing, I can honestly say that I enjoyed it.
Finally, there is “Verglimmt” (“Smoulders”). Perplexed and highly emotional as it is, it catches your attention and it doesn’t let go, that is if you can speak German or you don’t mind not having a clue what the hell the guy is singing about.
At the end of the day, if you judge each song from “Every Sun is Fragile” separately they are all fine if you like the gloomy, sad, slow stuff of bands like Katatonia, Anathema, Opeth and late Sentenced. But it’s true that the album, as a whole, does tend to drag on.