An Introduction
Switzerland-based Aara is back with their fifth full album in four years. The new album, called Triade III: Nyx, is the latest installment of the Triade cycle. I discovered the band with their second album En Ergô Einai and really liked it. After that, the band fell a bit off the radar for me personally, but here they are again with a new album. So let’s take a listen to this album and see what they have come up with.
The Album
There are six new tracks on the album, which concludes the trilogy. The runtime will be 41 minutes, and it will be available on March 31st (although you can listen to the full album on the YouTube channel). The track list includes:
- Heimgesucht
- Emphase der Seelenpein
- Moribunda
- Unstern
- Des Wanderers Traum
- Edo et Edam
Nyx ends the trilogy that Aara started with Triade I: Eos, concluding the story based on the 1820 gothic novel “Melmoth the Wanderer” by Charles Maturin. Although I’m not familiar with that story, according to the band’s Bandcamp page, the third installment is described as follows:
“‘Nyx’ stands for the end, and darkness…with the stories of the protagonists coming to a conclusion. Melmoth’s lover ends up in the dungeons of the Inquisition and dies of her grief after the death of the child conceived with Melmoth. But despite all the suffering of the people, Melmoth cannot convince anyone to share the lot of immortality for his soul, and so his time runs out and his existence on earth must end”.
As I said, I’ll check out the story that the album is based on because it does seem interesting. Music-wise, the album is a continuation of the previous one. They have a distinct sound with nice riffs, lots of atmosphere, and good vocals. However, for me personally, the vocals are a bit too muted in the background. I think this is by the choice of the mixer or the band.
Another highlight of the music is the drums. J. or Jöschu Käser does a stellar job, and they sound awesome. He’s also the drummer of another band I really like, Thron, so I had an idea of what to expect on that front.
Highlights
The first highlight for me is “Emphase der Seelenpein,” which means “Emphasis of the torment of the soul.” The entire track just drips with atmosphere, featuring nice blast beats, riffs, and vocals that indeed sound like a tormented soul. This fits the track very well.
“Hush! So be silent! Let me listen to the storm! It is he who flees with his sighs over this head felled by death!”
Melmoth the Wanderer
“Des Wanderers Traum” or “The Wanderer’s Dream” is the fifth track of the album, and starts off with pummeling drums (my favorite kind of drums). The vocals in the beginning sound like a hymn and give off a nice vibe. After that, the ice-cold vocals kick in together with the guitars, and everything blends together very well.
Conclusion
If you haven’t heard of Aara before, go give them a spin right now, if you have heard the previous albums, you know what to expect from the band and this latest installment. The band continues with a good album and I can’t wait for their next project/album. You can give the album a spin by watching the YouTube video below. The album itself will be released on March 31st.
BMZ Score 8 / 10
Links
Bandcamp: Triade III: Nyx | Aara (bandcamp.com)
