I kind of lost track of Aura Noir and somehow came across this album and grabbed it on Bandcamp Friday last month. It's been so long since I listened to the couple of other albums I own (Black Thrash Attack and The Merciless) that I won't even venture into comparisons.

Aura Noir still work in the black/thrash genre, but this is a bit on the slow side for the most part—not that there's anything wrong with that; there's more to it than speed. It sounds weird at times, almost experimental, sometimes a little proggy (not much, and just bringing to mind some progressive death metal bands) and experimental, but the feeling I couldn't shake is that there's some Celtic Frost in there, especially when it comes to the vocals. Those croaky, decipherable vocals just had to be influenced by Mr. Warrior to some extent. Aura Noire isn't exactly the most in-your-face black/thrash album you'll find, but there's a lot of heaviness and trippy stuff to be found, which at the very least gives the band some points for colouring outside the lines. Keep in mind that this one needs a few listens to start to sink in, so don't write it off too quickly if it doesn't grab you right away.