Autumn Release “Black Stars In A Blue Sky”

Credit: Metal Blade Records

“Black Stars In A Blue Sky” is the second single off of Dutch rockers Autumn’s upcoming album Cold Comfort (title track “Cold Comfort” was the first single). Both songs feature the haunting vocals from Marjan Welman. These two songs are polarizing, as “Cold Comfort” is a more traditional slowed-down, heavy song with dream-like vocals and “Black Stars In A Blue Sky” offers a more indie feel on the musical point. However, this second track is transcending, leaving you with a feeling that you can accomplish your dreams.

You know, while everyone is praising the return of Evanescence (no discredit intended here), they should have been looking to the Netherlands for something a bit more original and untapped.

Cold Comfort is Autumn’s fifth full-length effort, offering fans a collection of striking songs blended into a diverse and yet surprisingly compact album, one that Autumn considers their most personal and meaningful to date.

While Autumn’s roots remain firmly planted in heavy rock/guitar-oriented soil, their branches are stretching out to more progressive musical genres and alternative approaches to the sound of individual songs. Guitarist Jens van der Valk elaborates:

“In terms of sound we realized there were still leaps to be taken out of our comfort zone and into unthought-of possibilities. As a first step in the right direction, our main focus was on a more open, transparent sound, one through which the often multi-layered nature of our songs would be optimally channeled.”

Autumn needed not look far for a man to put at the helm with the right pioneering philosophy for the band to begin taking leaps: Erik-Jan Dodd, Autumn’s live sound engineer since the My New Time era, envisioned a more vintage approach for Cold Comfort. An experiment the band was all too eager to embrace, explains guitarist Mats van der Valk.

“If there’s anyone who knows what we’re all about and more importantly what we could potentially be all about, it’s E-J.”

Cold Comfort will be released November 4th/7th in Europe as a limited first-edition digipak-CD, including two bonus tracks!

Cold Comfort Track Listing:

1. The Scarecrow
2. Cold Comfort
3. Black Stars In A Blue Sky
4. Retrospect
5. Alloy
6. End Of Sorrow
7. Naeon
8. Truth Be Told (Exhale)
9. The Venamoured
10. Changes For The Bitter (Digi-bonus)
11. The Mute (Inhale) (Digi-bonus)

Autumn is:

Marjan Welman – vocals
Jerome Vrielink – bass
Jan Munnik – keyboards
Jan Grijpstra – drums
Mats van der Valk – guitar, grunts & backing vocals
Jens van der Valk – guitar & backing vocals