I caught From Autumn to Ashes at their co-headlining show at Irving Plaza with Haste the Day in April. I was one of those people who thought the band might go in an emo direction after the departure of singer Ben Perri. I was very wrong -- Fran Mark really delivers in his role of sole frontman. I hadn't heard Mark scream before this show and disc was released but he seamlessly ranges between a scream and a melody (an immediate point of comparison would be Phil Labonte).

To get back on track with the CD review -- all of the cuts thrash. The songs are a good bit more melodic than anything that Perri had sung in the past but the melody doesn't take away from the intensity of the tunes. Don't let the comment about melodies scare anyone off -- none of the tracks are anything like "Inapprope" or "Streamline" (from Abandon Your Friends). The melodic hooks are closer to All That Remains but Mark doesn't have quite as guttural a scream/bark as either Labonte or Perri. The CD really gels and sounds like the work of a coherent band rather than just being centered around the voices of the two front-men.

I just found out that there are two iTunes b-sides to this release and they are called "Hang the Mason" and "What Good is My Virtue?".

Holding a Wolf by the Ears is a great CD by a band that has really grown musically over the last two years. I read an interview with guitarist Brian Deneeve who said "We went through a lot and came out the other side". I like the direction the band is going in and am looking forward to future releases.


FAtA is touring Canada and then the West Coast later this month.

Canadian Tour
With It Dies Today, The End, I Hate Sally
7/03/07 Saint Catherines, ON @ Level 3 Night Club
7/04/07 London, ON @ Embassy Hotel
7/05/07 Guelph, ON @ Cowboy Bar
7/06/07 Toronto, ONT @ Opera House Concert
7/07/07 Quebec City, QC @ L'ANTI

Canadian Tour
With The End, I Hate Sally
7/08/07 Sherbrooke, QC @ Theatre Granada
7/09/07 Trois-Riviere, QC @ Makisart
7/10/07 Montreal, QUE @ Les Foufounes Electriques

Canadian Tour
With The End, Sick City, I Hate Sally
7/12/07 Sault Ste Marie, ON @ Glow Nightclub
7/13/07 Thunder Bay, ON @ 201 Concert Hall
7/14/07 Winnipeg, MB @ The Collective Cabaret
7/15/07 Portage le Prairie, MB @ Keeshkeemaquah Conference
7/16/07 Regina, SK @ The Distrikt
7/17/07 Edmonton, AB @ The Starlite Room
7/18/07 Calgary, AB @ Macewan Hall Ballroom

US
With Aiden, I am Ghost, Night Kills the Day
7/20/07 Boise, ID @ Big Easy Concert House
7/21/07 Salt Lake City, UT @ Avalon Theater
7/23/07 Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep
7/24/07 Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theater
7/25/07 Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
7/26/07 Anaheim, CA @ Chain Reaction
7/27/07 Pomona , CA @ The Glasshouse
7/31/07 Ventura, CA @ Apline
8/01/07 San Luis Obispo, CA @ Downtown Brew
8/02/07 Fresno, CA @ The Exit
8/03/07 Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk (no I am Ghost)

Links:
From Autumn to Ashes MySpace page (link)