Aara - Eiger (2024)

Swiss Atmospheric Black Metal outfit Aara continues their desolate path, after completing their “Triade” trilogy, they now take on “Eiger”. In this release the band’s masterminds got inspiration in the book “The White Spider”, which tells early stories of attempts to climb this famed mountain. The music, as expected, is both chilling and highly emotional, crafting eight dramatic tracks filled with raw intensity and harrowing melody. As one of the best Atmospheric BM releases, this is one hell of a frosty journey to close out the year.

Opening with blowing wind atmospherics, the release quickly sets a very frosty and desolate vibe as it slowly builds up with crafty percussions and intense riffs. The band’s signature style of perfectly pacing their songs, be it unleashing furious onslaughts or bleak slow passages, makes songs like “Die das wilde Wetter fängt”, “Senkrechte Welten”, and “Felsensang” very cinematic. The way the album develops, with ebbs and flows, allows the listener to really feel the story.

With Berg handling most instruments, we get the usual spread of powerful riffing, crafty atmospherics and some excellent acoustic guitars thrown into the mix, on track like “Der Wahnsinn dort im Abgrund” that allow the story to come to life, while Fluss unleashes his signature screams, keeping the music raw, brutal, and yet refined, like on “Grausig ist der Blick”. The way the band builds the music around their story is quite brilliant, with songs like “Alptraum” contributing to the cinematic experience while the ‘heavy’ instruments complement it with emotion.

Overall, “Eiger” is another masterful release from Aara, that strikes a different tone than their previous releases and opens a whole world of possibilities to what is next from this band. If you have never heard these guys, you should get initiated and get their very impressive discography. If you are already a fan, be prepared for a rollercoaster journey in different terms than their previous releases.

Label: Debemur Morti Productions

Release: December 6th, 2024

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: Switzerland