Autumn Tree - Autumn Tree (Album Review)

Through the wisps of smoke that hangs about like remnants of a ghost a pistol appears swiftly with a gloved leather hand tickling the trigger and let’s off around with a crack. Chaos ensues as more pistols appear. More shots are fired. From out of the mist comes a quartet of musicians dressed like American southern rockers swinging bottles of booze and attitude. Mannheim, on the western side of Germany near Frankfurt and the border of France, is where these guys hail from. Kai Lutz (Rhythm guitar, Lead vocals), Dennis Bopp (Lead guitar, backing vocals), Norbert Galan (Bass), and Aaron Kirsch (Drums) make up the trunk of the Autumn Tree that has brought out their first self-titled album on Bug Valley Records produced at Masion Derriere record studios.

Originally starting as a 5-piece they are now down to a four-piece after the occasional band member change. They have not been around long having started in 2016. Gaining popularity after reaching the semi-finals of a talent contest they have built up a fanbase by playing a variety of small shows. But they have the philosophy that you should just live life to the fullest and if you have to go work with a hangover smelling like smoke then you had a good night. Rock ‘n roll!

They have a wide inspiration of music but mainly drawing on the southern rock with big boozy guitars and throaty vocals. Have a listen to “Mississipi rain'” for clarity on this. These guys are inspired by the tales of the wild west so the album cover adorned with a native American warrior or decorated chieftain looks pretty epic in relation to that. The songs are also loaded with hints of living life in excess and just getting up to rock out.

Effectively they have produced a solid line-up of music with a variety of style having been inspired by the likes of Volbeat and alter Bridge. The opening song “Deadman’s Hand” storms in with some bass lines that will liven you up. There is a good bout of banter between all the instruments having their turn to give a piece of their mind. Grungy guitars give a solid overall tone of music supporting Kai’s vocals. While the vocals are interesting and provide a unique element to the album such as on the song “Supernatural” they can sometimes seem disjointed from the music and not as polished as what as it could be. Solos punctuate the songs here the there as kickass attributes to the range of the production. Seeing them live with the grungy vocals, chest-thumping bass and grinding guitars would be worth a trip. “Barman” kicks you right in the face.

This is a band with a solid base to work from and will build up in strength from there. The raw energy these guys must have would come to the forefront on stage and provide a massive show.