Metal Reviews

Beheading Samsara - Eternal Autumn - Song Review - Progressive Death Metal from Gines, Seville, Spain

Today, I delve into the world of the progressive death metal band, Beheading Samsara, hailing from Gines, Seville, Spain. The song that gave the band's debut studio album its name, Eternal Autumn was my focus today, which released as the first single before the album on September 23, 2022.

Beheading Samsara, Eternal Autumn (Official Audio)

Another rainy, cloudy, and moody Autumn morning in the Swiss mountains. Today, I spent my morning listening to the song "Eternal Autumn," which caught my attention and introduced me to a promising new band, Beheading Samsara from Spain. In the meantime, I listened to this song more than a few times on different occasions, and I even went further by listening to a few more songs from their latest album with the same title to find answers to my mixed feelings. So let me try to explain them to you below.

First and foremost, the song caught my interest mainly because of its progressive death metal concept, along with influences from one of my all-time favorite bands in this specific genre, Opeth. From a musical standpoint, the song incorporates tranquility and violence under the umbrella of progressive death metal. The dynamic and complex structure takes the listener on a journey of contrasts that made me feel like it's part of a larger story, calming you down with its melodic and moody clean passages while raising the tension with its heavy sections. I thoroughly enjoyed the dark and moody energy overall in the song, even though the underlying idea sounded familiar from time to time.

Moreover, the vocalist of Beheading Samsara deserves credit for his contribution to the authenticity of their musical concept. In "Eternal Autumn," we hear him singing melodically, whispering, death growling, as well as performing theatrical parts, all of which earned my appreciation. Most importantly, he demonstrates potential for a range of versatile vocal styles and personalities rather than just having the ability.

Beheading Samsara, band photoPhoto credit: Guille Sanchez Photography

On the other side of the medallion, I believe my mixed feelings are mainly related to the sound design and production, even though it objectively possesses enough quality to make a positive impact on most listeners. Firstly, I couldn't shake the feeling of hearing computer plugin/software-generated sounds every time I listened to the song attentively, especially in the guitars and drums. This feeling was compounded by the overall static dynamics in each instrument, as well as the absence of a sense of "room" throughout the music, which, personally, I no longer choose to consume for a long time.

Beheading Samsara, band photoPhoto credit: Guille Sanchez Photography

In conclusion, "Eternal Autumn" by Beheading Samsara is a captivating journey into the realms of dark progressive death metal, incorporating elements of tranquility and brutality reminiscent of bands like Opeth, led by a talented vocalist with versatile vocal personalities. Thank you for reading.