Witherfall drew my attention with their sophomore album ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’, which to this day I consider a masterpiece of dark progressive power metal. At the time, my hope was that the other activities of vocalist Joseph Michael and guitarist Jake Dreyer did not go at the expense of Witherfall and fortunately, it only took them two and a half years to come up with a fine follow-up in the shape of ‘Curse Of Autumn’. It is slightly less dark and oppressive than ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’, which I prefer as a result, but ‘Curse Of Autumn’ is another excellent work that blends traditional and contemporary heavy metal.

The main difference between ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’ and ‘Curse Of Autumn’ is that the latter feels far more chorus-oriented and that is an important part of why ‘Curse Of Autumn’ feels slightly more predictable. Witherfall is perfectly capable of writing an excellent, memorable chorus, but I do feel like choruses are repeated far too often occasionally. ‘As I Lie Awake’ is a particularly prominent offender here. While it is a cool song with excellent melodies, it would have been a lot better if it was a minute shorter by sacrificing a few repeats of its chorus.

Fortunately, the good outweighs the bad by far on ‘Curse Of Autumn’. The uptempo power thrash of opener ‘The Last Scar’ caught me a little off-guard, as its immediacy was not exactly what I was expecting. However, it is a great opener that to me sounds like a more clever Cage. ‘Another Face’ is an excellent power ballad that appears to follow the template for such a song closely initially, but quickly evolves into something more interesting, while the title track and the instrumental ‘The Unyielding Grip Of Each Passing Day’ form an excellent, highly dynamic diptych.

Highlighting the album, however, are its two lengthy tracks. ‘Tempest’ is one of the most interesting metal epics I have heard in recent years structurally, as it goes through apreggiated acoustic chords, pounding riffs and fast palm-muted sixteenth notes without ever losing its melancholic character, which is mainly carried by Michael’s fantastic vocals. Closer ‘…And They All Blew Away’ is another story entirely. So much happens within its fifteen and a half minutes of playing time that it would be difficult to do it justice in written words, but it is admirable how Witherfall keeps the song dynamic and comprehensive even when the musicians’ virtuosity is on full display.

Although I prefer the overall sound of ‘A Prelude To Sorrow’, ‘Curse Of Autumn’ is another piece of evidence that Witherfall is one of the finest bands in the contemporary metal landscape. They have a passionate singer, great compositions and virtuosic musicians who know when to take a back seat to the music. Also, ‘Curse Of Autumn’ has possibly the best drum sound I heard come out of the Morrisound Studios in decades, though I suspect Marco Minnemann may just own a fantastic-sounding kit. Here’s to hoping Witherfall will stick around long enough to treat us to a few more great albums like this.

Recommended tracks: ‘…And They All Blew Away’, ‘Tempest’, ‘The Last Scar’