Germany’s Black Autumn were formed by M. Krall in 1995. The first years this solo-project did not release anything official, yet as from this century on, Black Autumn turned out to be a rather productive entity. There were a couple of demos in between 2003 and 2006 (one of them, called Isolation, was re-released by Kunsthauch under their 99 Screams Series-banner; the review has been posted very recently; check the update on October 6th 2014), as well as a first split, with Italy’s Abyss. In 2007 Black Autumn released the debut full length, called Ecstasy, Nightmare, Doom (ISO666). Three more full lengths followed, i.e. Rivers Of Dead Leaves (Antichristian Front, 2008), Aurora - Morgen Rothe Im Auffgang (Cain, 2010), and Ghost At Our Windows (Depressive Illusions, 2011), followed by another split-CD, this time with Montana-based solo-outfit Zebulon Kosted (Al Hadid, 2012). Last year there was the Advent Of October-EP (via Bylec Tum), and now mighty Rain Without End Records, a sub-division of also-mighty Naturmacht Productions, release the fifth full length, Losing The Sun.
The origins of this album go back to the end of last decade, and a couple of songs were digitally and independently released in December 2010 as advance / promo-effort. It differs from the early years, and the material from this album, for example, is not comparable to that from Isolation, for example. Anyway, Black Autumn here perform a mixture of very grim, epic, cold and / or hypnotic Black Metal, with paying attention to atmosphere, melody and variation. That variation goes for the whole album, yet still Losing The Sun succeeds to convince with a strong-magnetic cohesion. The highly melodic compositions trespass borders of post-emotional dimensions, bringing melancholy and combativeness into a one-way journey through spheres of grief and frustration. Some pieces are truly overwhelming, due to both a great compositional writer’s craftsmanship, as well as the magnificent, massive sound quality. I did not mention the performance, for the execution is highly qualitative throughout the whole album. Listen to tracks like the grandiose composition Laetitia, or the doomy and suffocative track A Corruption Of Innocence … Anyway, each single track is an experience, though some exclusively more than others. But for sure Losing The Sun (which lasts, by the way, for thirty nine minutes), my dear reader, is truly a fine piece of atmospheric yet no-nonsense Black Metal!
The bio adds that Black Autumn deliver the fitting soundtrack for life as a never ending Autumn, a melancholic journey culminating in an eternal Winter. Isn’t that a fine definition to conclude?...