It was only a few years ago when FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES was an underground band with rising status in the scene. Fast forward to today and they’re practically stars after the mainstream spotlight shifted to metalcore/emocore. Their third release, Abandon Your Friends, sees the band improving as songwriters with their most solid release to date. Stylistically, this is FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES doing what they’ve been doing from the start but just with stronger riffs, better song structures, and less filler. Album opener, “Where Do You Draw the Line,” sees the band jumping out with heavy aggression while second track, “Inapprope,” is a melodic, “lighter” song with predominantly clean vocals. Following track, “Sugar Wolf,” demonstrates FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES’ growth as the song incorporates improved musicianship, smarter riffs, and a nice bridge. The rest of the album maintains a balance of aggressive and sensitively sappy numbers. I can picture the throng of teenage girls singing their hearts out to the ballads. As a whole, the band are moving further away from the predictable reliance on metalcore breakdowns/riffing and Swedish death metal melodicism though its influence is still apparent. Fans of FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES will be more than pleased with Abandon Your Friends as it further shows that these guys are the real deal. (Vagrant Records)