Record label Arising Empire have quickly become the litmus test for all that is good and heavy, releasing key albums by bands of varying stripes. Their latest discovery comes from fellow compatriots From Fall To Spring, a band who combine the power of metal to the quick fire delivery of rap, and the effect is rather arresting. Two heavy forms of music are fused in a particle collider and the result is RISE, an album so weighty you’ll need a forklift to prise it from your turntable.
After two well received EP’s (2017’s A Better Tomorrow and 2019’s Disconnected) it seemed that global domination was on the cards for this south German quintet, but then came the pandemic to throw a spanner in the works. Using that time to regroup and hone their sound, From Fall To Spring have come back even stronger, and they’ve stepped up to the album format rather well. Opening with a brief, dreamlike instrumental, ‘AWAKE’ transports us to another dimension before ‘THE CURSED ONE’ shakes us from our slumber. However, RISE really hits its stride with the groove laden ‘DRAW THE LINE’. The band deliver a contemporary sound (replete with scratching and other neat tricks) yet, unlike some music which is firmly rooted in the present, you get the feeling it will age well, and still sound fresh and exciting many years hence.
Drawing influence from the likes of Linkin Park and Electric Callboy, From Fall To Spring have a sound that’s as hard-hitting as you’d expect, and each of these 11 songs connects like a well-aimed punch. However, there’s a real sense of melody bubbling beneath many of these songs that makes them heavy and harmonious, which makes the band kind of unique in the genre. Therefore, it is no surprise that these guys have been shortlisted as Germany’s entry into this year’s Eurovision Song Contest (but don’t let that put you off) and, on the strength of this record, it is not inconceivable, that if chosen, they could bring home the prize. From the aforementioned ‘AWAKE’ to caustic closer ‘BLACK HEART’, RISE is a constantly evolving beast that never fails to surprise the listener, and it’ll insidiously wrap itself ‘round your cranium like razor wire.
In an age where genre divisions are being demolished with reckless abandon, From Fall To Spring straddle the line between rock and rap perfectly. This could have left them in a musical no-man’s-land, yet they play with such temerity that their conviction can’t be doubted and you feel that RISE is another sure step on an amazing journey.
- RISE is released via Arising Empire on 14th April 2023.
Track List:
- AWAKE
- THE CURSED ONE
- DRAW THE LINE
- BEASTMODE
- LIGHT UP THE SKY
- DESTINY
- BR4INFCK
- RISE
- SUPERNOVA
- BARRIERS
- BLACK HEART
