From Autumn To Ashes - Holding A Wolf By The Ears

LABEL:

Vagrant

GENRE:

Post-Hardcore

RELEASE:

April 10, 2007

LENGTH:

39 min 52 sec

RATING:

Since the turn of the century, a significant number of bands have drawn criticism for allegedly jumping on the "screamo" bandwagon. A perfect example of this is Thursday, a spectacular band that always gets lots of crap from the holier-than-thou in the independent music scene for being unfortunate enough to gain popularity during that particular time. There exist countless bands who deserve such ire, far too many to list here. For a long time now, From Autumn To Ashes has been treated that way and while their poetic, yetgeneric name isn't helping their cause, I'm not so sure they deserve it. Sure they were part of the trend, but I'm not sure it was completely voluntary. In any case, fans and critics alike shit a collective brick with each new release, crying foul that the band was getting worse and selling out. In a way, I've benefited from this, as I became a bigger fan with each album and as a result of this wax-and-wane pattern, I have managed to avoid dealing with the trendy fucks that gave the band a bad name to begin with.

I really enjoyed FATA's last album, Abandon Your Friends, and after Ben Perri, who was responsible for the hardcore half of their vocals, left the band, I figured they were done for. So after they announced Holding A Wolf By The Ears, I only assumed the screaming would be gone and the sound would become much too docile to be successful. Then it dawned on me that Francis Mark's melodic singing style was the main reason I got into the band in the first place because, while Perri's harsh voice was probably the main reason the aforementioned trendies loved them so much, it didn't sound so great when Mark wasn't complementing him. So when I got my hands on the new release I was surprised the learn that Mark had taken it upon himself to not only retain his previous vocal style, but to take over screaming duties as well. The result was something much different than what fans were used to.

Holding A Wolf By The Ears is not so much an exercise in raising the bar as it is an example of overcoming adversity. Many bands would have called it quits when their lead vocalist departed, but From Autumn To Ashes kept on going. There aren't that many tracks that really stand out and some people won't be able to remember which ones are which, but I like most of them, especially on the first half. Actually, I start to feel somewhat bored after that point, as the vocal novelty seems to wear off. The main reason why this album is simply average is because it feels like it doesn't have much staying power. At the end of the day, Holding A Wolf By The Ears is pretty good, but this band has done better. If this album were shorter, perhaps at EP length, it would be a lot more enjoyable, but as it is, there's not enough in this full length that jumps out and grabs you. I applaud the effort, but if From Autumn To Ashes want to bounce back, they're going to have to give it that little something extra.