Arrival of Autumn - Kingdom Undone

Arrival of Autumn – Kingdom Undone
Release Date: 26th May 2023
Label: Nuclear Blast
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Genre: Metalcore
FFO: BFMV, Killswitch Engage, It Dies Today, Trials, Kingsmen.
Review By: Mark Young

Hoping to stamp their mark as part of the wider New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Arrival of Autumn on their second full length offering, which promises an expansion of all the ideals they hold dear and of the sound they wish to create.

Scars kicks things off with an urgent romp with some fairly nifty riffing, alternating between the guttural and the sung vocals. It has that swing going on that shows an appreciation of melody without sacrificing the heavier side required. It’s a powerful opener and statement of intent that goes some way to backing up their promise of progress made over previous reviews. Trust continues this fine path, mixing up that straight ahead riffing with a hint of Arch Enemy guitar lines (to these ears anyway). This one-two is on point, with both being short, sharp jabs to the face whilst showcasing some great fretwork.

Ghosts harks back to the Gothenburg sound but with a Hatebreed vocal attack that allows the sung sections to shine through and is destined to become a live classic for them with Hell Comes Home sounding like the best thing Arch Enemy have never written with that furious guitar part, double bass and a delivery style that shows a chameleon effect on switching to an almost Corey Taylor phrasing, its fast, direct and heavy and drops into a pitch black breakdown.

One More Day pummels in rage, with a twisting riff line that is bound to rattle your teeth live, and then applies the brakes for an atmospheric guitar break that brings the melody back in to finish us off. Liminal takes a slight industrial detour with a stop-start motif that spews venom and just absolutely flies into Burn, which is possibly the weakest track on here given the quality that’s come before, and it’s not a bad one, it’s just missing something in attack.

Who the Masters serve has that anger / feeling once more with the switch back to the shouted vocals just to remind of their roots. This one has the most vitriolic delivery, with the music behind it being completely in sync. Bury Me wisely slows it down with a melancholic guitar before it rises to that spirit raising chorus with that guitar line just repeating before setting phasers to heavy. That riff just winds and winds around the vocal and its class.

Hallowed ends us on that heavy note once more, but with more of the quasi-clean singing, switching at will to the roar. It has everything you want in a closer, pounding drums, guitar wizardry and that infectious sing-along, and it’s going to be a monster live.

One thing they have is that sense of perpetual movement, there is an unwillingness to stand still in how they play these, and they certainly want you to move for them. There is a cold edge within this, and there are definite notes of Arch Enemy, and the wider melodic Gothenburg sound going on but through that North American filter. I love it when there are recognisable themes but given that unique spin by the band in question, and that is what you have here. It’s early days on their journey, but it shows there is a lot more to come from them.