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From Autumn To Ashes
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Country Club Theater
Ogden, UT
3/17/2007
By: Caz* Bevan
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Unsure at the time of what From Autumn To Ashes would
sound like featuring both a new lead singer and a new
drummer, I attended their show at Ogden's Country Club
with mixed expectations - marked by an acquired taste that
would fully ride on their live performance.
In complete anticipation I witnessed the first few songs,
waiting for something miraculous to happen. I needed this
show to redeem me and release every sense of caught-up
emotion inside - from the previous month of hell I had
witnessed. I needed this band to pound it out of me, bring
me to tears, force the crowd into a fight so I could throw a
guiltless punch, and send me home with an ultimate sense of
relief. So maybe I did have great anticipation, but for now,
all I could think was how bassist Josh Newton had a strange
resemblance to Ferris Bueller.
From Autumn To Ashes seemed tired, or perhaps a little
pissed after a last minute venue change from the much nicer
(and central) In The Venue to a far away hole in the wall,
The Country Club. Apparently this has happened to the band
every time they tour through Salt Lake City. The scene may
seem dead, but a venue full of fans still managed to find
their way to the Ogden location - an hour north of the
previous venue - and stand with the same fueled angst that
put From Autumn To Ashes in whatever mood they seemed
to be in.
Soon, the crowd worked off of the band, and the band was
then fueled by the crowd. The room was divided into two
mosh pits and I stood in the middle. As I was getting the shit
beat out of me by kids a decade younger than me. Teenage
girls insisted that I join them in a drunken Bohemian style
hardcore dance. Now I was entertained.
The crowd pounded at my back and kicked me in the shins.
Each member of From Autumn To Ashes stood at the edge of
the stage, eyeing the center of the pits, energized by Utah's
one-by-one sampling of ninja fighting surrounded by a
classic, old-school circle pit. Each member of the band put
more into their performance.
Drummer Jeff Gretz seemed to put a deeper punch into the
double-kick, pounding an impeccable rhythm into the crowd.
Lead vocalist, Francis Mark reached for the crowd, pounding
his chest as he would scream into the mic as if he truly
believed every word he was saying. Josh and Brian would
back him up with additional screaming, taking a
guitar-stance or walking the stage as if circling for a fight.
Guitarist Rob Lauritsen jumped and paced the small bit of
space the stage provided. Now we were talkin'.
Everyone was enjoying this and the additional drive was now
well worth it as the band ended their set with a favorite,
"Reflections." The crowd was exhausted and the band
seemed satisfied.
Holding A Wolf By The Ears will mark the fourth
release for From Autumn To Ashes. Expected to be released
April 10, 2007 - this album represents a smooth progression
for the band.
Bassist, Josh Newton comments that, "I think we've raised
the level of our musicianship yet again. From the second to
the third [album] we've got two new guys and the bar was
raised a bit. Then with this last one, I mean it wasn't a
conscious thing, but I think we're playing things that are a
little more difficult." Guitarist, Brian Deneeve agrees, "We're
all comfortable in our stations with how things are done in
our particular roles. I don't want to say it's a conscious effort
to do it like that. It came out better. It's just a better
record."
Complete with twelve tracks, Holding A Wolf By The
Ears features former drummer, Francis Mark, now as
the lead singer. From Autumn To Ashes is back with a full
dose of powerful lyrics, a familiar progression of classic
hardcore breakdowns, and a flawless transition from former
lead singer, Ben Perri.
The album begins with "Deth Kult Social Club," dominated by
machine-gun power chords and a chorus you can rally
behind. The songs are fairly self-explanatory with titles such
as "Daylight Slaving," "Delusions of Grandeur," "Travel" and
"A Goat In Sheep's Rosary."
This album embodies all the changes for From Autumn To
Ashes and stands for a complete sense of leaving the past in
the past while illustrating a hopeful future. This is the fourth
album - and last album contracted for Vagrant Records -
somehow I think this marks only the beginning for the band.
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