
                  _ _______ _       ...:...       _ _______ _
                     ___ /       .:::::::::::.       \ ___
                     |  /    .. (:::::::::::::) ..    \  |
                     | .  .:::::.`:::::::::::'.:::::.  . |
                     |  .::.. `:::.::':::`::.:::' ..::.  |
       _ _______     | .::'     ::::':::::`::::     `::. |     _______ _
          \\   |     |  ::       `' ::':`:: `'       ::  |     |   //
           \   |     |   `:.      .::' . `::.      .:'   |     |   /
            .  |     | .::::::..::::' ... `::::..::::::. |     |  .
               |     | `:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::' |     |
         ....  |     |   `:'  `::::: :: :: :::::'  `:'   |     |  ....
         |  '  |     :     `.  ': :: :: :: :: :`  .'     :     |  `  |
         |.....:     .   .......: :: :: :: :: : ......   .     : ....|
    . ...................:      : :: :: :: :: :      : ................. .
            _____________:_____________ _____________:_____________
       _ ___\`   __     /_\`   _______/_\`   __    _/_\`          /___ _
           //   __     / (/   ___/     (/   _        (/    /_______/\
      _ _ /_________   ___________   ______/\   _ ______________/\__/_ _
      \\\\\_________\__/\_________\__/\_____/\_____/\____________/f3!///
    - -\-\-----------\__/----------\__/-------\_____/---------------/-/- -
    - -------------------:      : :.  ..:: :: .      :------------------ -
               :     :   :......: :: :` ': :: : .....:   :     :
   ___ _       |     |          : `         ' :          |     |       _ ___
  _\---------- :     | -------- :   B E R C   : -------- |     : ----------/_
  /_\          .     :      . ..:..         ..:.. .      :     .          /_\
 /// .               .          :             :          .               . \\\
  /:                                                                       :\
 /::     Artist  :: An Autumn for Crippled Children                        ::\
  ::     Album   :: The Long Goodbye                                       ::
  ::     Year    :: 2015                                                   ::
  :: __ _                                                             _ __ ::
 -:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
  ::  \                                                                 /  ::
  ::   . Genre   :: Black Metal                 Source  :: CDDA        .   ::
  ::     Label   :: Wicker Man Recordings       R.date  :: 2015.03.30      ::
 _::__   Cat.nr. :: WKM003                      Size    :: 78,81 MB      __::_
  :://                                                                   \\::
  ::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
  ::                                                                       ::
  /:     Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0                                        :\
 ..:     Bitrate :: avg. 266kbps                                           : .
   .     Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint Stereo                                   .
   .                                                                       .
         Website :: https://www.facebook.com/aafcc2009

  __ __ _      .     :   _ ____ _             _ ____ _   :     .      _ __ __
  .\\\\------- :     | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- |     : -------////.
  +/ -\------- |     | ----\       tracklist       /---- |     | -------/- \+
  /:           .     :                                   :     .           :\
 /::                                                                       ::\
  ::      01. The Long Goodbye                                   04:59     ::
  ::      02. Converging Towards the Light                       04:13     ::
  ::      03. A New Form of Stillness                            04:04     ::
  ::      04. Only Skin                                          05:02     ::
  ::      05. When Night Leaves Again                            04:12     ::
  ::      06. She's Drawing Mountains                            04:41     ::
  ::      07. Endless Skies                                      05:44     ::
  ::      08. Gleam                                              03:54     ::
  ::      09. The Sleep of Rust                                  04:23     ::
  ::                                                            -------    ::
  ..                                                         >>  41:12     ..
  __ __ _      .     :   _ ____ _             _ ____ _   :     .      _ __ __
  .\\\\------- :     | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- |     : -------////.
  +/ -\------- |     | ----\     release notes     /---- |     | -------/- \+
  /:           .     :                                   :     .           :\
 /::                                                                       ::\
  ::                                                                       ::
  ::      An Autumn for Crippled Children are exemplars of blackgaze,      ::
  ::      the increasingly popular subgenre that takes inspiration         ::
  ::      from black metal and shoegaze. Naturally, they're bound to       ::
  ::      get comparisons to Deafheaven and Alcest, and while they are     ::
  ::      contemporaries of both, they barely resemble one another. On     ::
  ::      the surface, they keep black metal's fuzzy hum that Alcest       ::
  ::      and others have consciously dropped. The Dutch trio also         ::
  ::      exert much more of a post-hardcore influence, which is           ::
  ::      evident in their shorter songs. More significantly, there's      ::
  ::      a damaged aspect to their music, with strings and synths         ::
  ::      breaking out haphazardly. The Long Goodbye is their fifth        ::
  ::      full-length release, following Try Not to Destroy Everything     ::
  ::      You Love, which honed their sound while keeping it               ::
  ::      endearingly messy. This album cleans up some more of the         ::
  ::      racket.                                                          ::
  ::                                                                       ::
  ::      Unlike most bands who focus more on the gaze than the black,     ::
  ::      AAFCC still have a fairly abrasive guitar tone, evident in       ::
  ::      the opening rings of the title track. You can detect a           ::
  ::      melody beneath, but despite the dream pop influences, the        ::
  ::      guitars are more blinding than soothing. Even so, there's        ::
  ::      variety to be found in Goodbye, an advantage brought on by       ::
  ::      shorter overall song lengths. "A New Form of Stillness" is       ::
  ::      jangle pop under the spell of the second wave - grimness         ::
  ::      comes after bounciness. There are plenty of black metallers      ::
  ::      who will jam New Order on the low, but the bassline from         ::
  ::      "Stillness" makes AAFCC's fandom public. "Endless Skies"         ::
  ::      (which has a vaguely trip-hop intro) and "The Sleep of Rust"     ::
  ::      are set within a depressive black metal framework, but the       ::
  ::      conflicting nature of grime and glory presented throughout       ::
  ::      Goodbye adds a dimension most sadsacks can't comprehend.         ::
  ::      "She's Drawing Mountains" may be the highlight of the album,     ::
  ::      as the melodies flex and compete with the onslaught of           ::
  ::      blackened drone.                                                 ::
  ::                                                                       ::
  ::      Goodbye's synth work is what raises AAFCC above the              ::
  ::      blackgaze fray. Like most black metal keyboards, they're not     ::
  ::      technically complex and primarily function as ambient waves;     ::
  ::      where they differ with AAFCC is that they can be an              ::
  ::      antagonizing force in addition to the guitars. They don't        ::
  ::      exactly intrude upon the music, but they don't make a            ::
  ::      graceful entrance either. In "When Night Leaves Again"           ::
  ::      they're particularly unsettling, as if encouraging the drums     ::
  ::      to lose their composure. "Only Skin"'s intro comes at you        ::
  ::      like bright lights and a refreshing bucket of water dumped       ::
  ::      on your worst hangover. The torrent that surfaces afterwards     ::
  ::      is almost a relief. There was a period in time when black        ::
  ::      metal bands boasted about not using keyboards - thankfully,      ::
  ::      AAFCC weren't paying attention.                                  ::
  ::                                                                       ::
  ::      Listening to Goodbye, it's evident that AAFCC are also           ::
  ::      students of Lifelover, a Swedish band who were pioneers in       ::
  ::      mixing post-punk and black metal. Before guitarist and           ::
  ::      leader B's passing in 2011, they found a way to make             ::
  ::      Burzum's buzz blend with the Cure's basslines, and few have      ::
  ::      been able to match them since. Lifelover also had a knack        ::
  ::      for somber piano melodies that would drive the song more         ::
  ::      than the guitars on the forefront; AAFCC channel this at the     ::
  ::      end of "Converging Towards the Light", where the piano           ::
  ::      nearly overtakes the guitar during the final hurrah. AAFCC       ::
  ::      aren't clones - they mutate Lifelover's ethos into a             ::
  ::      gnarlier, and at the same time beautiful, sound.                 ::
  ::                                                                       ::
  ::     .         _                                       _         .     ::
  \:     :.       \\ ___________       .       ___________ //       .:     :/
 __\____ :: ____ ___\    _    /   BERC : 2015   \    _    /___ ____ :: ____/__
  \\\f3! ::    \\\     __   _/_________i_________\   /___/   ///    :: cRO///
   \     ::    :\-\___________\_   ___ /    _  _/___________/-/:    ::     /
         ::    | .   . _ _ _/       __/     .     \_ _ _ .   . |    ::
    : :::::::: |     | \\\\\/   _______\____|\    \///// |     | :::::::: :
         ::    |     | -\-\/____/-------------\____\/-/- |     |    ::
         ::    |     |   \            :|:            /   |     |    ::
          :    :     |    .      `    :::    '      .    |     :    :
          .    .     |          :     :::     :          |     .    .
                     |         :::....:::....:::         |
                     :         :::::::::::::::::         :
                     .         :::''``:::''``:::         .
                                :     :::     :
                                 .    :::    .
                                      .:.
                                       :

