AARA
Triade II: Hemera (Gold Beer Splatter)

Like strokes of inspiration, exquisite guitar melodies weave a fluent plethora of moods and emotions, showcasing a heavy classical influence. Undulant blast beats and biting screams serve as a counterpoint to pristine atmospheres and ethereal choirs, an obstinate reminder of the finite nature of man and his creations.

Here at the onset of a new decade, AARA presents a landmark of thoughtful, unorthodox Black Metal.

Comes in a 4-panel digipack with a 12-page booklet.

The wonderfully productive Swiss atmospheric Black Metal band AARA return with urgency to unleash "Triade II: Hemera", their 4th full-length since 2019 and the second chapter of the Melmoth trilogy.

Based upon the 1820 Gothic novel 'Melmoth the Wanderer' by Charles Robert Maturin - and closely connected in style and atmosphere to 2021's initial instalment "Triade I: Eos" - each of the 6 brutally melodic tracks follows the book's chronological mid-point narrative in a dazzling critical examination of theism and scepticism through the medium of top-tier Black Metal.

Although conceptually aligned with part one of the trilogy, "Triade II: Hemera" further-advances the AARA sound into realms of progressive extremity: defined once again by the beauteous lead melodies of composer/guitarist Berg, the record combines a raw violent undertow with subtle rhythmic shifts, left-field riffs/refrains and sublimated vocal savagery - interweaving Christian choirs, the Jewish shofar horn and traditional Indian vocal samples into yet another outstanding offering from an unstoppable young band overflowing with ideas and confidence.

Averaging an album per year since their 2018 formation, this latest expression from the rightly-revered Swiss Atmospheric Black Metal band AARA shows no drop in quality, nor let-up in their perpetually questing sense of purpose.

In follow up to 2023's "Triade III: Nyx" - the climatic installment of the 'Melmoth' trilogy based on Charles Robert Maturin's classic Gothic novel - the band now break away from the literary and apply their stunning musicality to real-world events.

"Eiger" is conceptually focused on the 3967 meters mountain of the same name in the Bernese Alps. Since 1935, at least 64 climbers have died attempting to conquer the Eiger’s sheer, ice-covered north face which has earned it the nickname of 'Mordwand' ('murder wall'). The album specifically examines an attempt to climb the Mordwand in July 1936 which ended in tragedy, as four young mountaineers succumbed to treacherous conditions and disappeared, presumed caught in an avalanche.

AARA's music has evolved dynamically in tandem with the subject matter, becoming more visceral, tangible and hauntingly powerful. An organic and spacious production allows the trademark elegiac, spirited leads and reverberant acoustic guitars of main-composer Berg to give increased emotional weight to a performance of on-the-edge savagery from vocalist/lyricist Fluss. The icy melodies, pensive moods, vibrant plummets and shifts/drifts contrast the wonderment of the natural world with a heightened sense of existential malaise and ultimately horror.