Arrival Of AutumnHarbinger

Canadian metalcore outfit Arrival of Autumn are debunking the myth that Canadians can’t be aggressive.

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Their debut album, Harbinger is a brutal example of just how effective chugg-riffs and blast-beats can be … If you’re too old to mosh, don’t stress, there’s also some clean vocals thrown in there for all your singalong needs.

Hurricane on the Horizon is a brutal opener in a similar vein to Gravemind’s The Deathgate. Being ruled by huge riffs and frantic drumming it has potential to be an unreal song, but, it also introduces the biggest criticism of Harbinger.

The difference in genres that are merged together over the course of the album can become quite polarising to the listener.

For instance, Hurricane on the Horizon is a well crafted metalcore song with strong influences of hardcore and then all of a sudden there is a huge trash-metal guitar solo thrown in. Whilst this is a cool concept in theory it doesn’t always work and can at times feel a bit unnecessary.

Harbinger is an album for the pit warriors.

At other moments it can be great, such as in two-step driven Old Bones/New Blood which incorporates a solo that feels much more deserved and cohesive. The same thought process can apply to the clean-vocal choruses. Sometimes it works exceptionally, at other times it feels as if they have just been thrown as a formality to their genre.

Moments of greatness can be found in the ballsy chorus of Witness and in the bouncy nu-metalesque vocals of Better Off Without, a song that also throws in the use of intricate string harmonies.

Harbinger is an album for the pit warriors. It’s made to be a banging album to mosh too and quite frankly, I can imagine it going down a treat live. But, I do feel as if the album overall is at times a bit too showmanisitic, which isn’t necessarily unexpected for a debut release.

STANDOUT TRACKS: The Horror, Better Off Without, An Omen of Loss.
STICK THIS NEXT TO: August Burns Red, Gravemind, Every Time I Die.