Embrace the Gutter (CD - 2006)

Recording information: Eastern Sky Studios, Cassleberry, FL.

Daytona Beach metalheads the Autumn Offering may have worked hard to establish their own sound on their debut, Revelations of the Unsung, originally issued in 2003 and re-released as an enhanced disc by Victory in 2006. The way they've done it is to embrace the music of their heroes, from Guns N' Roses to Slayer, Metallica and early Iron Maiden to Emperor and other black metal acts -- musically, not lyrically. If anything, the lyrics these Southerners spout have more in common with political punk rock than anything else; a comment they won't take as a compliment. Whatever. These guys can play everything. Check out the contrast of styles in "The Yearning" alone, from driving thrash metal to melodic solos drenched in early-'90s Brit metal. It's flow that counts when people play as widely divergent styles as this. And Autumn Offering have it, each track seamlessly blasts into the next: check out the way the aforementioned flows stylistically into "Ghost," which even has traces of Thin Lizzy in its bridge riff! The stomp, snarl, and roar of "One Last Thrill" is the rocking-est thing on the set and just screams from start to finish. Vocally, fans of screamed, low-end guttural wailing will dig the proceedings, but on this track, it's almost a chant, As for nu-metal, these young cats have it down. They know how to write, how to play, and are getting better with each release. ~ Thom Jurek minimize