Aura Noir - Black Thrash Attack (1996)

Where the EP felt like a bit of German thrash worship, Black Thrash Attack feels like a more direct hybrid of its two genres, a faster and more intense attack than its predecessor, but still bursting into those frilly Destruction-like riffing patterns to remain recognizable. This record is a complete assault on the senses, with loads of blasting and much heavier riffs, almost as if the Norwegians' core sound is evolving much like their German influences did through the later 80s and beyond. The band had added Blasphemer here on guitars, and that might explain why it has a denser sound to it, but not necessarily through the production, which is nearly as raw as the EP, and rather dry on my ears, which for me does detract some points away from the experience.

That's not to say I dislike it, because the band's passion and songwriting manage to bleed through the mix. The rhythm guitars are more meaty and varied, in any given track like "Caged Wrath" or "The Pest" there is just a lot more going on, it doesn't feel like it couldn't been scratched out in an afternoon like the EP. They are definitely building a broader portfolio of riffs here, while still keeping some of their elements like the tinny clash of the drumming. Speaking of which, I think both of the core members perform on a few songs and they've improved since the debut, some of the more intense batteries wouldn't have felt out of place on the earlier Marduk offerings. The bass is kind of a non-starter here, the dry and direct production highly favors everything else out so you can only really hear it curving out a little like the low-end thrum of some rhythm chords. Like the EP, there are few riffs or songs overall that really stand out to me over time, but in the moment they can certainly prove exciting ("Eternally Your Shadow" is a favorite, or the title track), and this is also the point where that heavy Hellhammer and Celtic Frost influence turns up ("The One Who Smite"), which would have a huge impact on their later works as the band partly shifted its focus.

The lyrics here are quite a bit better penned than Dreams, although I still get the impression that lots of the song titles and general attitude are paraphrased from Sodom and Destruction. Which, for 1996, wasn't all that dated a concept, but still left the band a little shy of becoming its own distinct identity. Regardless of that, I know a good handful of people that consider this Aura Noir's finest hour. I am not one of them, as the production does little for me and I just feel like this formative 'half' of the band's career has been bested by so many others (Nekromantheon, Deathhammer, and Antichrist would be just a few examples), but Black Thrash Attack was unquestionably a stride forward from the previous release and shows a lot more effort, structure and ambition. Again, not the first record I'm pulling off the shelf, but a damn solid example of how this earlier style and the one it partly inspired can fuse together into something violent and fresh.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

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