Rockfreaks.net

From Autumn To Ashes

These Speakers Don't Always Speak The Truth EP

Written by: PP on 14/03/2007 17:25:16

From Autumn To Ashes used to be at the very forefront of screamo around the release of underground classics "Too Bad You're Beautiful" and "The Fiction We Live", before their vocalist Ben stopped showing any interest in the band and forced the band to change their writing proccess, resulting in an album acclaimed by the press but shunned by the majority of their fans. "These Speakers Don't Always Tell The Truth EP" is their first release since drummer Francis replaced Ben as the frontman and vocalist, and all initial scepticism some fans may have had for the change can now be moved aside, because if this three-track EP is an indication of things to come on "Holding The Wolf By The Ears", From Autumn To Ashes may just have written the best album of their career.

It only takes the first 20 seconds of the opening track "Deth Kult Social Club" to have me convinced on Francis' suitability as the new frontman. His throaty screams are tighter and more intense than Ben's ever were, and lean towards the more-polished screaming style that we hear on records like UnderOATH's "They're Only Chasing Safety".

In the past few months Francis has constantly been stating how they are a 'new band' after the departure of Ben, and this EP highlights that way of thinking. It is difficult to hear From Autumn To Ashes on this record because of the different screaming-style and the much tighter instrumentals, but I wouldn't say it matters when the songs are this awesome. The dual clean/screamo vocals towards the end of "Pioneers", for instance, are a prime example of how to write credible screamo without sounding pretentious. It's not rare to hear the screaming going one way and the clean vocals go another, creating the same kind of wonderfully refreshing screamo-clean contrast that made bands like Saosin into the cult acts they are today. Especially the choruses are brilliantly constructed with the beautiful clean vocals shadowed by the razorsharp screaming, much like the guitars; the backing guitar is always running a simple power-chord based riff, while the lead guitar travels through the fret almost better than on any other album in the whole genre! I know that's a bold statement, but if "Holding The Wolf By The Ears" will overall sound anything like "Pioneers" and "Deth Cult Social Club", it will be the best screamo album to have been released since "Define The Great Line".

Download: Deth Cult Social Club, Pioneers
For the fans of: UnderOATH, A Static Lullaby, Emery
Listen: Myspace

Release date 13.03.2007
Vagrant