Released By : Self Released
Genre : Black Metal, Power Metal
Links : http://www.myspace.com/auvernia
Lineup:
Fernando H. Varela – Vocals, Guitar
Juan P. Verni – Drums
Tracklist:
1. Meeting
2. Throw Your Fear Away
3. And So It Starts
4. Anguish
5. No Time For Time
6. Interludio Portento
7. Self Reflective Fear
8. Out Of My Hands
9. Your Own Universe
10. Ode To Life
11. Another Concience
12. We Are Complete
Upon hearing AUVERNIA’S first album TOWARDS ETERNITY in 2008 I was instantly a fan of the band. That disc had great unique mixture of power metal and symphonic black metal all wrapped up in a slight blanket of progressive metal. Though the album wasn’t a massive seller, it was well respected by critics and certainly earned the band quite a strong following.
Two years later the band has released its second album AFRAID OF ME and I have a copy of it in front of me ready for a review. The simple fact is that if you enjoyed the first album, AFRAID OF ME is pretty much more of the same and the band haven’t deviated from their signature sound one little bit. This can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you feel, for example I did enjoy this new album a fair bit, but it’s not quite the revelation that the debut was and because this one doesn’t offer anything new I’d rather stick with the first. That’s not to say that this album isn’t worth your time or anything, because it’s certainly worth checking out for any power metal fan that enjoys a bit more edge with their music, or for symphonic black metal fans that aren’t afraid of some catchy melodies and lyrics that don’t really include anything too obscene or macabre.
There is much to enjoy with songs like THROW YOUR FEAR AWAY, NO TIME FOR TIME and ODE TO LIFE being the best of the bunch and all include some slight progressive metal influences that keep things interesting. The musicianship on this new album shows some progression from the debut, but for me I feel that the songwriting wasn’t quite as strong this time around.
Still, a worthy second effort that shows a band willing to stick to a successful formula and an album that I hope finds an audience as I still think a band like AUVERNIA could have a magnum opus up their sleeve and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before this happens.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
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