AARA – Eiger
Release Date: 6th December 2024
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal.
FFO: Uada, Gaerea, Grima.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Upon first listen, I was immediately thankful for a good full modern-style mix. I might be a shill for a more-modern black metal experience, but I think that heavier bass and drums make for a nuanced listen. Call me whatever you like, I think that the modern German black metal sound is becoming my favorite version of the genre. I can understand why some people want to remain as cvlt as possible, but much like punk, the focus can be varied between composition and tone. Black metal seems to have the same type of fandom. I lean towards the former, and AARA gives me that in spades.
One of the things that makes this album great is that it joins one of many black metal projects which create concept albums which interpret historical events into thematic productions, having metal music as the medium. It’s one of my favorite things to enjoy in the metal genre in recent years. AARA join the likes of 1914 and Kanonenfieber, except instead of telling stories of war, they tell the heroic story of a group of mountaineers trying to forge one of the world’s most dangerous mountains, called Eiger, ultimately claiming the lives of four in the attempt. I think this is a fabulous basis for an album, demonstrating a thoughtful way to bring a real life story to life.
I love concept albums, so this is right up my alley. As a rather stupid citizen of a country where most people don’t speak a word of German, I find it hard to get exposure to bands and projects that don’t specifically cater to me. However, I think that AARA should be examined alongside bands who use the art form as a way to tell a riveting story, even if they have to learn about the events from an outside perspective, or, god forbid, translate the lyrics. That being said, the album is thoughtfully-crafted, provoking emotional highs and lows, powerful crescendos, and depressively-lonely interludes that illustrate the sounds of being in a windy, snowy wilderness, only the sounds of footsteps and howling wind to be heard.
Frankly, I think this album is a wild ride that I didn’t expect to be as good as it was. I think that if you are a fan of the modern black metal sounds of bands like Uada and Grima, you are not going to want to miss this album just based on its thrilling high vocals, excellent drum mastering, and folksy interludes. If you are a moody maximalist, this album should strike your fancy in its cosmic level of depth from an artistic pint of view, something that so-few other genres can bring to the table, especially for metal lovers. Debemur Morti is one of the single-best labels in the game right now for extreme music, especially in the black/blackened way. I think that if you are just wanting to comb a label’s yearly production, you might want to start with D.M. and don’t stop until finished. I think that my AOTY list might have more than one of their offerings.
(4 / 5)
