My history with An Autumn For Crippled Children is not as vast as I would like. I don't know much about the band, but whenever I've heard them I have always enjoyed what I've heard. They always had a little bit of a different sound than a "typical" black metal, or atmospheric metal album. I didn't even know this album was coming out until I got a chance to listen to the promo I received. Sadly, It seems I'm not alone. Plenty of metal news sites, or sited dedicated to bands didn't have this album listed, and only had their EP Hearts of Light/Blossoms as their most recent release. Even the promo had no album artwork, track listing, or any real information. It makes getting any background pretty difficult. The only artwork I could find, as well as the titles for two of the 10 tracks, came from the bands Soundcloud page. However, the music is what really matters, and man, oh man, does this album ever deliver.

One thing that stands out about this album right away is the heavy use (reliance?) on keyboards. Don't get me wrong, the keyboards are just fantastic on this record, creating a great atmosphere (but not like a doom band by any means). The album is melodic as hell, while still being heavy when it needs to be. Track 4, as well as track 6 (titled Sepia Mountains For her Lament ) are great examples of the softer side the keyboards addto this album. Track 4 in general has a good change on this album. A soft, spoken word intro before the metal kicks in is a nice palate cleanser after the firs 3 tracks kick your ass.

Another great thing about this album is the actual length. Th songs are shorter, and they really give you the sense that everything ends when it needs to. There is no extended passages for the sake of it, or overly long songs just to be long or "Progressive". To me, nothing ever seems to drag on this record, and everything flows very well, from track to track and as a whole. The actual musicianship is also very high quality. It helps keep the attention of the listener throughout. Long or short songs, if the music is sloppy and dull, no one will care. Such is not the case on this record. Having listened to a few of the band's prior songs, this album does seem to be a good advancement of the sound, while not straying away completely from what they have done before. It's a logical progression, showing a band being more comfortable, and more confident in what they are producing.

However, like with almost every album, there are certainly some flaws. The album is not perfect by any means. I do feel the keyboards tend to overshadow the rest of the music at times, making things sound more cacophonous and "noisey" than I would like. This may be perfectly line for some people, or even to me, some bands, but I would really love to hear the rest of the musicians a little more. The drums feel a little low in the mix, as do the vocals. The vocals are all screamed, and with being lower in the mix, I can not make out anything being said. I would love to know what the songs are about, since I don't have many song titles to base anything on. Also, the album does not have any real climax the end. The way the album had been going, I had expected some grand finale on track ten (apparently titled Quiet Everything). However, this climax never came and the album finished just as "business as usual" to me. Not a bad album at all, in fact, one of my favorite albums of the year, but I did expect more in the end.

Despite a few gripes/complaints, this album is very well done. The musicianship, and the song writing makes up mostly for the flaws. Some of the beautiful keyboards rank among some of the best I've heard in this progressive almost show gazing at times style of black metal. The album has many metal aspects, while still being not the most "metal" album I've ever heard. Not bad at all though, as this stands out in a year of some very quality releases. The album length is just perfect, and makes me want more. So much more. I don't know when the album is set to be released (assuming it is not already) but I would recommend checking out some songs ( and the gorgeous artwork) on the band's soundcloud page at this link. And since I did not mention above, track 2 is apparently called The Woods Are On Fire.