It’s always fun reading through the greetings that bands, promoters and labels write when sending out promotional materials. There’s a lot of “ETERNAL HAILS!” and “GREETINGS!” and “Dear media partners,” followed by some description like “born from the feral wastelands of Poland…” or superlative tropes like “the metal underground’s best kept secret…” yadda yadda yadda. You get the picture, I’m sure.

It can all start to blend together and become hard to stand apart, so when uncharacteristically brief and to-the-point messages come in, they usually tend to grab my attention! Such as the case here: a simple message of “Hi! As you may have heard, ETERNAL AUTUMN reformed in 2017 after a hiatus for 16 years…” No, friends, I had not heard! In fact, I had no idea this band had even existed in the first place!

But, sure enough, a quick qoogle search shows that, after releasing two full-length records in 1998 (The Storm) and 2000 (From The Eastern Forest) the band took a long break before getting back together and releasing 2019’s The Werewolf Diaries EP. Alright. So who are Eternal Autumn, and why should you care?

Well, I remember last year listening to Nite’s Darkness Silence Mirror Flame last year and thinking to myself, “Ah, alright, this is gonna be a thing now,” that “thing” being a super catchy mix of Traditional Heavy Metal topped with harsh, raspy, blackened Abbath-like vocals. And it wasn’t just me heaping praise on the band, either. That record (deservedly) took a spot on numerous year-end lists throughout the metal world. It was a sound both refreshing and nostalgic, a reinvigoration of sounds we all know and love, but put together to create something wholly new and exciting.

Well, as it turns out, I guess Eternal Autumn have been doing that for a while now. Who friggin’ knew?!

I should clarify, I don’t mean in any way to suggest Nite of any ripping-off or thievery or anything like that. It’s not a carbon-copy situation, and to be fair, Eternal Autumn’s earlier works have a little more of a more melodeath-leaning flavor, but the current formula especially is pretty damn close, and it’s friggin’ SWEET. Mighty, traditional heavy metal riffs blackened at the edges, backed up with epic, catchy-as-hell melodies and leads that just get stuck in your brain and don’t let go. A little bit or Judas Priest, a dash of Mercyful Fate and Diamond Head, and a good dose of Celtic Frost come together in unholy matrimony to create a hell of a good time.

The EP’s title track starts off at a rousing, fist pumping pace, getting the juices flowing before drawing you in even further with some excellent little Maiden-meets­-Thin Lizzy leads, working those melodies into your brain until you find yourself able to get them back out again. But the band switches paces, and soon they’ve slowed things down and take you on a sweet, melodious little Proto Metal ride that steadily builds back up to epic, head banging finale and leaves you wanting much, much more of this.

Unfortunately for you, me and everyone else, there’s only one more track. Luckily for all of us, it’s another rousing, fun mix of classic heavy metal-meets melodeath that strikes a super catchy nerve. This one slows things down a touch, going with a churning, galloping riff that really leans into the harmonies. Somewhat lower-end production quality aside, it sounds really great, each member of the band showing off some impressive chops, practically forcing you to bang your head and pump your fists with glee.

If you’re like me and have never been introduced to these guys, drop everything and check out their early LPs The Storm and From The Eastern Forest, as well as their excellent, slightly more Black Metal-leaning 2019 EP The Werewolf Diaries. I promise you you’ll be very happy to have all of these releases in your life. As for To Tame The Impaler, the only possible complaint I have is that two songs just isn’t enough. I need more. I need A LOT more of this. So pretty please, guys, can we string a few more songs together for a full-length in he near future? I’d very much appreciate it.

[Visit the band's website]

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