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Aura Noir is supposed to be one of the few old school bands that perform convincing black/thrash metal. In the past, a couple of albums were released by these people, and there, apart from listening to their brand of metal firmly linked to the glorious past, we could stumble on riffs directly taken from bands as Sodom or Nuclear Assault. The members then said in interviews that those parts were borrowed as a homage to the legends. That´s the point, I wonder; it takes to be a real asshole to steal the riffs and try to cheat the listener when the ripped bands are such a myths in the extreme metal milieu. It´s plainly evident these people love the old times... And who are they? Well, the line-up consists of Mayhem´s guitar player Blasphemer, Apollyon and Aggresor (ex Ved Buens Ende, what a weird band...). Experienced musicians, that´s sure. There are no significant changes in the style of these Norwegians, although the first and second tracks reckon a certain shift towards raw black metal. In fact, the opening song “Upon The Dark Throne” is nothing but a straight tribute to Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, and the addition of the “so pure... so cold...” verses portrayed in “Transylvanian Hunger” is the flawless token. I don´t have the rest of lyrics for this Aura Noir song but I suppose it´s an elegy to the black masters of metal.
“Condor” also keeps the black metal running, until the extent that one begins to assume this as a pure black metal album. “Black Metal Law” is however a below average song. A bit silly songtitle and riff. Then, the rest of “The Merciless” is Aura Noir in their tradition: thrashy metal with the everflowing black metal hints here and there, in the vein of Dark Angel. Nothing really astonishing if you ask me, so this album won´t be certainly a masterpiece of the genre. When they play black metal, they are just a Darkthrone tribute band, an accelerated version with simple riffs and the same old tired ideas (just the same as later Darkthrone stuff). When thrash metal is on the spotlight, nothing exciting is what these guys deliver. Skilled musicians from known cult bands aren´t enough to make a really killer album. “The merciless” is for lovers of black/thrash metal without high expectations. There are better retro bands than this one...
| Tracklist |
| 1. Upon The Dark Throne |
| 2. Condor |
| 3. Black Metal |
| 4. Hell's Fire |
| 5. Black Deluge Night |
| 6. Funeral Thrash |
| 7. Sordid |
| 8. Merciless |
: 27.45
| Buy other Aura Noir albums |
