AURA NOIR
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54c8ebafe4b065894331d293/t/5a844523ec212d810a6c9cc6/1518617911172/AUra+Noir+Header.jpg>AURA NOIR
AFTER 25 YEARS UPHOLDING AND REINVIGORATING THRASH METAL’S GRIMMEST TRADITIONS FOR THE DELIGHT OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNDERGROUND, THE UGLIEST BAND IN THE WORLD UNLEASHES THEIR SIXTH FULL LENGTH, THE SEMI-SELF-TITLED AURA NOIRE!
"The infernal trio fabricates the best of black and thrash metal since these two wonderful genres have raised their ugly heads!”
10/10, Slam Magazine (AT)
“The entire record must be heard. Put it on repeat and find a nice cold beer (or six) and you’ll have a great evening. Cheers!”
10/10, Metal-Norge
"An intense release from start to finish..."
5/5, BattleHelm (UK)
“The most intense and dynamic 32 minutes of thrash metal you can hear in the current music scene!"
9,2/10, Hintf Magazine (PT)
"Aura Noire delivers an exhilarating blast of down and dirty, unfettered thrash…"
4,5/5, Metal Rules (UK)
“You can feel all the power, anger, rage, and rebellion in your bones!"
METAL ADDICTS (UK)
" This is one of the most fascinating Aura Noir albums!”
83/100, Aardschok (BE)
" Truly hypnotizing work!”
Blood & FIre (RO)
. “’Aura Noire’ is a dark and pummeling offering that scene fans should find as soon as possible…”
8/10, Metal Observer
“The progenitors of the black/thrash metal genre venture deep into blistering strangeness and sharp obscurity once more…”
Invisible Oranges (USA)
“RAW IS LAW”
Last Rites (USA)
A band geared towards thrash connoisseurs with active minds and mean spirits, Aura Noir stand at the fore of metal’s definitive genre in an age where the underground is utterly besotted with bands. These Norwegian thrash stalwarts don’t so much tread the line between savagery and sophistication as stomp upon it, showering dirt in the faces of lesser acts with each smoldering crater of an album.
With Aura Noire, a title which quite distinctly resembles their band name, Aura Noir churns through some of the most refreshing, yet nostalgic tracks of thrash metal ever to be heard. The album opens with probably one of the most retrospect of riffs, but suddenly summersaults you into the gloriously dissonant and immersive Aura Noir atmosphere. The soaring and burning shouts of Aggressor intensely glues the otherwise quite varied and playful guitar riffs and drums together, culminating into the essence of thrash that is Aura Noir!
The first Aura Noir recording occurred in the winter of 1994, at first an auxiliary outlet for a creatively inexhaustible Aggressor. Perhaps unsurprising from a man whose credentials included such left-field legends as Ulver and Ved Buens Ende, this untitled demo is unsettling and manic in tone, stylistically restless and eclectic but with a strong and distinctive musical presence. While the disparate ideas present here would be further explored and perfected by Aggressor later with Ved Buens Ende and Virus, it seems Aura Noir’s true purpose would be to address a more distinct deficit.
AURA NOIR - "Aura Noire" tracklist:
1. Dark Lung Of The Storm
2. Grave Dweller
3. Hell’s Lost Chambers
4. The Obscuration
5. Demoniac Flow
6. Shades Ablaze
7. Mordant Wind
8. Cold Bone Grasp
9. Outro
Out To Die reviews:
9,5/10 - Thisisnotascene: "Excellent record"
9/10 - Blistering.com: “Easily one of the strongest albums of the year thus far, Aura Noir has created their best record to date”
4,6/5 - Metalcrypt
4,5/5 - Trash hits
Metalforge -: "Filthy and catchy as hell"
April 2012 sees the release of the fifth Aura Noir album, “Out to Die”, their first album with INDIE recordings, with Blasphemer permanently back in the fold and several tours in Europe, North- and South America under their belt since 2008’s ‘Hades Rise’. It is bound to cement the band’s reputation as a black thrash attack more ugly, brutal and merciless than ever.
"Out to Die" has been in the making for the past few years, being forged at Apollyon´s studio in the mountains of Alvdal whenever the band gathered for beer and frenziness. The album sees a more intense and aggressive approach compared to what the band has done in the past, with an increasingly stark and raw vibe to it all.
Recorded on various locations in both Norway and Portugal (Blasphemer´s current location) during December of 2011, the bar is once again raised. Another milestone of putrid Black Thrash Metal is born.
Aura Noir formed in Oslo in 1995 as a result of Aggressor and Apollyons’ frustration with the metal underground’s trends and fads – the increasing overuse of keyboards and polished production etc. Black metal bands were turning into symphonic trite and thrash metal as such had been left for death (sic) in the late eighties. They saw a gap that needed to be filled with something real, something metal. They intended to create a band that combined influences of 80s luminaries such as Sodom, Celtic Frost, Venom, Voivod, Dark Angel etc. Thus, black thrash metal was born.
Alongside contemporary acts such as Gehennah (Swe), Infernˆ and Nocturnal Breed, Aura Noir found themselves at the forefront of a new wave of underground metal, returning to, and celebrating the eighties’ school of evil, dirty thrash metal. \'Dreams Like Deserts\' was released later that same year and this mini-album featured Aggressor and Apollyon switching drums and guitar/bass/vocal duties between them on every other track. This was to become a tradition for the band, both live and on record. The black and white sleeve depicting Apollyon and Aggressor at a local graveyard, wielding beer bottles and sporting the middle finger completed the oldschool feel.
\'Black Thrash Attack\', their debut full-length, followed a year later, and a more apt title has hardly graced an album. Blasphemer (ex-Mayhem) rounded out the line-up on guitars, and the trio seamlessly combined their obvious eighties’ inspirations with their undeniable songwriting knack. ‘Black Thrash Attack’ is still revered by many fans as the ultimate Aura Noir album.
On the 1998 follow-up \'Deep Tracts of Hell\', the band broadened their horizons, adding new filthy elements to their sound and going for a rawer approach, resulting in one of the ugliest and most volatile albums ever. It was also written and recorded solely by Apollyon and Aggressor, with Blasphemer concentrating on Mayhem at the time.
It would take six years until ‘The Merciless’ arrived and with a dry, in-your-face production , and clocking in at less than 26 minutes it was Aura Noir destilled and refined to the bone. The album was hailed by fans and press alike, and half of the songs on that album is with them on their live-set today.
In 2008 Aura Noir released their fourth effort, ‘Hades Rise’, with Blasphemer, and Danny Coralles of Autopsy contributing on lead guitars. Following Aggressor’s 2005 accident, rendering him unable to play drums it was the first album to feature Apollyon drumming on all songs. With their most diverse material yet and a dirty, organic sound - not to mention the most absurd endorsement list ever - it was an immediate underground hit and a critics’ favourite that year. Live, they enlisted the help of Obliteration drummer extraordinaire Kristian “Tank” Valbo, and soon Aggressor would return to the stage on guitar and vocals, completing the ultimate Aura Noir live line-up.
Lineup:
Aggressor – Bass, Vocals
Apollyon – Drums
Blasphemer – Guitar