Above Aurora
The Shrine of Deterioration

Above Aurora was born I Poland but has since relocated to Iceland, so apparently it is a Polish-Icelandic band and the name became much more fitting for a band from Iceland. This is their second album; the debut was released in 2016 and they had an EP in 2018. The Shrine of Deterioration is the title of this new release, it looks pretty nice looking at the cover.

I see in reviews that they are compared with other Icelandic band and from my experience it is probably a good assessment as they do remind me of other Icelandic black metal that I have heard. They are described as pessimistic trance black metal by the label, isn’t all black metal pessimistic? I have never heard upbeat black metal. Croaky vocals of course, pretty good and atmospheric sound. The production is nuanced and fine, better than much I have heard within this genre, it is also a pretty varied album with some slower doom parts as well as more standard black metal.

Despite all their positive aspects like the production, depth, variation and such, they are still a pretty generic-sounding band and I don’t really get into the album. The songs are simple enough to take to, and they are pretty decent, but I am missing that standout track or passage that makes this album into something more interesting than something pretty forgettable. There is no really good track or nothing that really excites me as a listener and when I end my listening session I have forgotten this album. Even with the variation and depth it feels a bit long at 37 minutes, that is not a positive sign.

Fans of the black metal genre, and especially the Icelandic variation of it, will probably like this a whole lot more than I do. I find this one okay but ultimately pretty pointless and not exciting at all, I think there are several better choices out there and doubt that this is the album to bring new fans to the band or the genre. The Shrine of Deterioration isn’t a very interesting album, I think you will do fine without hearing it.

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