Aura Noir - Aura Noire (2018)

The eponymous Aura Noire follows a fairly similar trajectory to its predecessor Out to Die, a faster and uglier callback to their early records that maintains the stronger and more memorable composition of the 2000s material. But there's a tonal shift here which brings out a little more of that old1 1984-87 Voivod influence I've been mentioning over a couple of their releases. This is largely achieved through the mix: the bass has a louder and chunkier voice to it, perhaps more important than on any of the prior albums, the guitars are produced with a boxed-in tone that feels slightly off-putting and alien without obfuscating them from the listener, and the nihilistic vocal barks are spit out very clearly but with some resonance and a bit of reverb that helps engrave them into the more affected sounds of the instruments.

This is consistent through the whole record, which again clocks in about 32 minutes to never wear out its welcome, and while some might prefer the mix of The Merciless or Out to Die, I kind of enjoy the quirk this decision gives to the record, it becomes more distinct among their catalog. Song-wise, this is another of my favorites, with coherent ideas translated into earworm riffage, absolutely evocative and killer lyrics (long a trademark of this band), and a genuine sense of creepiness and bleakness that is created through the note progressions and vocals. I remember Deep Tracts of Hell had a similar effect on me, but while this one isn't as abrasive as that I feel it's somehow more atmospheric. All of the songs are bangers, but I'd specifically point out "Hells Lost Chambers" with its steady trot and eerie atmospheric ending with the cleaner guitars and scarce bass, or "The Obscuration" where they spit forth a tremolo-picked intro more akin to some psychologically piercing black/death metal, or "Mordant Wind" which applies a little more of that Voivod structure to their post-Hellhammer grooves that became so prominent on Hades Rise.

But this is another album I almost always plow straight through, with other amazingly direct thrash numbers like the catchy "Shades Ablaze" and the swaying "Grave Dweller". Every one of the Nocturno Culto-adjacent vocal lines is riveting, pissed off and effective, like a tether to my corroding soul. And there's a special 'surprise' waiting at the end, a brief two-minute instrumental with a slightly brighter, yet still evil disposition due to the siren-like higher-pitched guitars they pitch over the rhythm riff. This is somewhat new for Aura Noir and foreshadows some potential ideas they might one day explore for the future, but it's also brief and might have been some unfinished track that they just slapped on there. Nevertheless, this s/t quickly became one of my favorite records they've done besides Hades Rise, and it definitely puts me in this weird blackened thrash trance when I'm listening. Even the weird, vague, minimalistic artwork by Kristian Valbo (drummer of bands like Obliteration) captures the imagination quite well. The trio split up for a spell some years after this disc released, but pretty quickly reformed, so I hope it's not too long to hear what they've been up to next.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

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