Hitwood – As A Season Bloom (2017)

Getting tons of digital albums a month makes for a hard predicament of which ones to actually review. While some are easily eliminated by the fact that they are terrible, we are always left with a handful that really caught our attention. Self-released EP “As A Season Bloom” from Hitwood is one of those. Featuring 4 tracks of exploratory melodic Metal, this release has a certain vibe that will attract you to it and will keep you listening.

Opening with the Post-Rock-ish “A Spring Glare Where Green Shine the Brightest”, this one-man project sets a very lively and moody atmosphere. Soothing the listener into such a lush and carefully crafted atmosphere is definitely the best way to start a release. The mood then shifts to more of a folky power ballad with “Memories from a Gentle Summer Evening”, featuring relaxing clean/acoustic guitars and a killer last few minutes, this track nicely continues the moody nature of the EP.

Having warmed up with the first few songs, “Catch the Autumn Scent” is considerably heavier with incisive riffs and crafty drums. This track is definitely more Metal than the first two, and it has that certain ‘guitarist solo album’ vibe, which is perfectly aligned to the fact that Hitwood is a solo project of Antonio Boccellari. Keeping up with the level of intensity, “Awaked by a Winter Blast” closes this release with intense drumming and very melodic catharsis.

Overall, we hear pretty solid ideas in “As A Season Bloom” and are quite engaged by its melodic nature. The songs might feel a bit disconnected, but they nicely explore melodic territories that we are quite familiar with, and certainly enjoy. Mixing elements from Post-Rock/Melodic/Alternative Metal, Hitwood should be an interesting project to keep an eye out for in the future.

Label: Self-Released

Release: April 9th, 2017

Genre: Melodic Metal

Country: Italy