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AURA - UNDERWATER - Reviewed By italiadimetallo! Wednesday January 18 2023, 12:49 AM

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AURA - UNDERWATER - Reviewed By italiadimetallo ! Check it out here at this link:

After 7 years from the last release (the album ' Nois e' from 2015) the Campania-born Aura are back with the album "Underwater" for My Kingdom Music . This is their fourth studio album in which they have definitively developed a sound that identifies them in the current Progressive Metal scene.

The incipit of ' Lost Over Time' resets the sound spectrum of the previous album with a much better audio quality. The sonic cleanliness and the dreamy mood are the renewed qualities that Aura bring to bear.' Keep It Safe' rounds it up and stands out as one of the best compositions on this album. The melody this time is the pivot around which the great instrumental technique of Aura orbits. The song arrives immediately and manages to surprise even at a distance. ' On Time' manages to repeat the previous song, inserting some synth elements that make it more modern in its own way; the instrumental part before the final reprise is dosed with great skill. ' Time to Live' he shuffles the cards slightly, in my opinion this time they are less able to create an organic piece like the previous ones perhaps due to the choice of some digital effects and their dosage in the mix; Giovanni Trotta's vocal performance is very beautiful.

'My Last Words to You' has a more syncopated, reflective but strongly emotional trend, echoes of Haken and Katatonia emerge for the excellent success of the song. ' Promises' , even if it doesn't add much to the heights reached in the other songs, encompasses all the peculiarities of Aura very well ; it was in fact extracted as a single (the video edited by the Aura themselves was beautiful!! Too bad they put the lyrics in it imho). ' Eternal Bliss' intrigues from the first listens, it is not too complex and conducted on a captivating melodic line which leads to a change of great value on the introduction of the equally valid solo. ' Lights Behind the Clouds', an instrumental piece that keeps the interest high on this still very rich "Underwater" that reveals itself listen after listen. It's the turn of the title track, with a mature arrangement, which manages to carry on the melody despite the musical depth (I would say "the depth of the waters"!). There is still room for a closure with a bang, the cover of " Astronomy Domine " by Pink Floyd , reproduced quite faithfully to the original, obviously seen through the sound spectrum of Aura .

"Underwater" is truly a beautiful record, it deserves numerous listens because despite the valuable melodies it is necessary to get well into the sound of Aura to grasp all its facets.

In my opinion, the band finally manages to distance itself from the reference bands (which they also openly mention in the release sheet?!), by virtue of a concrete musical maturity.

A decidedly inspired work, masterfully played and arranged, I can only recommend it! - italiadimetallo

Release Date: September 30, 2022

FFO: Porcupine Tree, Opeth, God Is An Astronaut, Leprous

Location: Italy

AURA play a combination of styles summarized under the Progressive Metal genre. Their music features odd time signatures and dynamic tempo changes, dreamy melodies, heavy guitars, and clean vocals. The band is currently signed to My Kingdom Music. With this label, the Italian band released their debut album called “ A different view from the same side” in 2008. Now, with a new album titled “Underwater”, they are ready to wrap you in their incredible universe made of intense melodies, and dreamy atmospheres. The album will be out on September 30th, 2022. Between 2011 and 2019 the band released two full-lengths called “Deliverance” (2011) and “Noise” (2015) with Spider Rock Promotion. In its history the band took part in many live events: Metal Battle final at Transilvania Club (Milan – Italy), iTim Tour broadcasted through Rock Tv, Agglutination Metal Festival (1998 and 2011, Italy) – Pictures of Prog festival (2011).

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