The progressive groove metal of AURAS is incomparable, which is why they have garnered a following for their unique style. Having just released their new LP, Heliospectrum on eOne Music, the Waterloo, Ontario-based band has been on the road from New York to Vancouver and back to Sudbury, sharing the album’s offerings on a fall tour with Toothgrinder and Moontooth.
Aura is in Kelowna tonight, Dec. 9 at Level nightclub.
“We wanted to tell a story with Infinite Influence using an ascending rhythmic arrangement that maneuvers into different dimensions paired with equal movements in melody,” says drummer, Nathan Bulla, of the record. “The inclusion of a guest guitar solo from our good friend Aaron Marshall attempts to pull the listener in at a pinnacle part in the journey only to be supervened in a destructive conclusion which returns to the initial theme, bringing an air of the darker Crestfallen EP sound back into play.”
“As for our upcoming tour with Toothgrinder, we are thrilled to be supporting the release of Heliospectrum with a band that shares a similar vision for relentless movement and organized recklessness, and can’t wait to bring the lively energy of these songs to stage!”
Their style works within a framework that serves as a familiar entry point to those whose lifestyle is devoted to the iconic stop/start blueprint of Meshuggah, the generational paradigm shift of Periphery, the likeminded mathematical wizardry of label mates, The Contortionist, and the steady meditative metal grooves of Northlane, Veil Of Maya, and Volumes. AURAS have defined their own unique place within the musical storm, a specific weather event enveloping the majesty of metal’s pioneers, the aggressive bark of thrash, the oppressive weight of death metal, all swirling in a cosmic fog imbued with the hypnotic groove-oriented pulse of Tool.
Heliospectrum is the first full-length offering from the Canadian upstarts,produced by Anthony Calabretta (Stereos, Abandon All Ships), with engineering/editing by Cameron McLellan (Protest The Hero, Intervals). The band previously released the singles,Infinite Influence, and Dream Elixir, which is accompanied by a raw video you can check out here.
AURAS consist of vocalist Eric Almeida, guitarist/vocalist Josh Ligaya, guitaristAaron Hallman, and drummer Nathan Bulla. They released Panacea, their debut seven-track EP, in January 2013 (just a few years after forming) and followed it with the track,Adverse Condition, demonstrating a boundary pushing attitude and bottom-heavy blast similar in mindset to TesseracT, Disperse and the band’s one-time tour mates, Ever Forthright.
In Spring 2015, AURAS dropped the 5-song Crestfallen EP on Good Fight / eOne,which was produced and mixed by Jordan Valeriote (Silverstein,Neck Deep, Structures). It hit #1 on the iTunes Metal charts and was part of Spotify’s Best New Metal playlist.
There is no ending on the horizon for AURAS. Heavy metal has replicated,separated, and diversified since its inception. AURAS take their place amongst the seven-string-axe-wielding poly-metric groove community, eager to shred the envelope further as they evolve, with only the very cosmos itself as the limit to their expanding sonic power.
