Coming from the next town over from my birth town (I was born in Coventry), AUTUMN's ASHES are a two-piece Melodic Death/Gothic Metal band based out of West Warwick, Rhode Island. "Eulogy" is the band's debut EP and contains five tracks.

"Down the Road" is a two-minute opening instrumental. It sounds like someone is crying, over a bed of charming piano notes. This odd juxtaposition is just what an opening track should be. The piano notes are very melancholy, but then turn slightly positive, straddling the line between hope and despair. "Vanished" is six minutes in length. Heavy guitars, bass and drums occupy the beginning of the song, with piano notes in support. The vocals are baritone on the register and are mostly clean, with some harsh vocals mixed in here and there. It reminds me of HIM or TYPE O NEGATIVE. When the harsh vocals take over, the song takes a nefarious turn, complete with blast beat drums and guitar solo done with fervor.

"Reason" is just over nine-minutes in length. Heavy tones pepper the opening landscape, with dissonant guitar chords and some meter manipulation. The clean vocals carry some emotion with them, as the song plods along at a slow pace, with organ notes mixed in. Some of the clean vocals can be a bit pitchy at times, but this can be expected by an independent band trying to find their way out there. The harsh vocals are spot on, however. "Up the Stream" is just under three minutes in length. Organ notes ring out high, like you were walking into church on a Sunday, but the organist is a skeleton and the congregation are undead. It has an eerie touch, making it sound ominous.

"Shutter" is a beast of a closer, at close to eleven minutes in length. Whispered spoken words open the song, with organ and clean guitars. They build a nice, smooth, and melancholy sound here. There are definitely some elements of Doom in their sound. It lumbers forward slowly with clean guitars and vocals. The harsh vocals are quite intense, as the sound builds with careful consideration. One thing the band is good at is songwriting and structure. Do I hear clean female vocals towards the end of the song? It's hard to tell, but I believe they are, and they are nicely done. They mix in with harsh vocals leading to a crescendo at the end of the song.

For a debut EP, this was good overall. I would love to hear more from the band in the future. As I mentioned, they are structurally sound in their songwriting, and bring those Gothic/Doom elements to the forefront of the album, with plenty of keys/organ notes. I believe that keys can offer a lot to an album...something different than just guitars, bass, and drums. This is a band to keep an eye on for sure, and I have a feeling with some more time together they will release a real firecracker of an album.