Have you heard of Nightwish, or Tarja, or even Delain, or perhaps Shamrain? Forget
about all of them. Upon Wings has a vocalist that flies clouds and heavens above all operatic echoes any opera-rock, female fronted band could muster up. Lead singer, Anne Autumn Erickson, is the force behind it all, and has a beautiful personality to give the fans with it. A brilliant combination to bless all of us with, and it is heard with amazing results in this EP, AFTERLIFE. The biggest smash hit off the effort, is the title track, "Afterlife". This song soars high, rocks with high potential to rock out, I could place this on repeat all night......it's like Sarah McLachlan went straight operatic rock and roll on us all!! Love it!! This is my favorite track off the EP, and I feel so lucky to have come into contact with the band. "You Are My Weapon" and "Take Away" remind me a lot of the gothic band, We Are The Fallen. This is a good thing in my book. We need more of this excellent music in the industry these days, like promptly. To end, I'd like to say if you're an Amy Lee fan, you will enjoy the other song off the EP, as it is known as "The Dream". The song is a soft, melancholy, of gothic and operatic heartbreak, yet there is somehow hope and chance still felt throughout this track. Overall, I will admit, when Anne first sent me the email, I thought this would be just average music, but I was proven way wrong. I love this. I want a physical copy, like right now...add this machine to my collection of hits!! Upon Wings will not need an "afterlife" because with this music, they'll live on forever. However, it will be the beauty and strength of THE "Afterlife" song, that launches Anne and the band into an entire new orbit!! To add more credit, the EP features production and guest vocals from Brett Hestla (Ex-Creed, Ex-Virgos Merlot, Dark New Day). The record also features mastering by Grammy Nominated mixing engineer Glenn Brown (Kid Rock's recording engineer) and guitar work, production from Canadian-based Kevin Jardine. Enjoy them from the links below, and get a taste of the true talent that's about to hit the scene hard with an "afterlife"!!
RATING:9.5/10
Upon Wings-"Afterlife (feat. Brett Hestla)"