Few albums so diverse can lay claim to a coherent, creative whole. Beyond the vacuous descriptor of "avant-garde*", Grey Aura ground their sound in black metal, perhaps. Perhaps. But only in as much as a band like Enslaved does the same. That base of whiplashed chords doesn't lean into sinister cynicism, veering more towards math & noise-rock architectures. The vehement vocals are certainly more akin to those of Ken Mode's Jesse Matthewsonthan to corpse-painted goblins. Mayhap a draught for those parched souls awaiting a new Bosse-de-Nage album? But so much more.
The compositional and technical skills at play here are nigh unbelievable. Clean guitar compositions approaching fully formed chamber music leak into folk apoplexies beyond my musical vocabulary. Brass reverberates off eastern peaks like phrases from Maurice-Alexis Jarre's Doctor Zhivago soundtrack. Rhythmic mastery and maniacal tempo shifts keep your ears riveted to whatever on earth is happening. Hideous and gorgeous and dumbfounding. Have you ever listened to DeVotchKa? What people offensively call "gypsy punk"? Think some of that shit.
Attempts to marry black metal and hardcore are a dime a dozen, but Grey Aura are a beast evolved far beyond mere genre emulsification. Words of description fail me, so let my enthusiasm speak for itself. Total monumension.
*Yes, I know that this album is released by Avantgarde Music, but that's besides the point.