AURA NOIR: New Songs Available For Streaming

Norwegian black/thrash butchers AURA NOIR are preparing to deliver their fifth full-length contribution to the extreme metal underworld this month. Appropriately bearing the title "Out To Die", the album unloads eight hell-bent songs in the crushing fashion fans should rightfully and ravenously expect from the self-proclaimed "ugliest trio in the world." "Out To Die" now holds down a North American street date of March 27 by Norway's Indie Recordings, via stateside distribution by Prosthetic Records.

Speaking to Terrorizer magazine shortly after a recent listening session in Oslo, AURA NOIR guitarist/vocalist Aggressor stated about the band's new CD, "It feels right. That's all I can say really. I'm not sitting here digging it; it's more like I'm content with having the finished product there, and now we can go play live. Because I think our music comes into its element when we're playing live. For me, a new album is like, 'Okay, we have more songs to play live now.'"

"Out To Die" marks the return of guitarist Rune Eriksen (a.k.a. ex-MAYHEM guitarist/songwriter Blasphemer),who now resides in Portugal and leads his own band AVA INFERI. Eriksen made several trips back to Norway to work on the new AURA NOIR songs with Aggressor and Apollyon (guitar, bass, vocals, drums; also bassist in IMMORTAL).

"I wish we were all living in the same apartment and rehearsing every day, all three of us together, but obviously that's not possible because we have our private lives and everything," Aggressor told Terrorizer. "But it brought about some new ways of working, and it actually worked out okay in the end."

The endless roster of previous and current acts the members of AURA NOIR are attached to includes the names MAYHEM, IMMORTAL, AVA INFERI, DØDHEIMSGARD, VIRUS, CADAVER and dozens more. Since forming in the early '90s, the band has unleashed a plethora of releases, including four LPs, a myriad of demos, EPs and splits and a live album prior to "Out To Die". While maintaining a generally cult status over the majority of their existence, it was the band's 2008-released "Hades Rise" album which brought on more widespread coverage of and attention of the band. The album was followed by AURA NOIR's first North American shows at the annual Maryland Deathfest in 2011 followed by a Midwest/East Coast mini-tour supporting MARDUK, gaining the band entire new legions of fans throughout the country, not to mention their European festival and tour appearances over the years.

2012 sees AURA NOIR delivering some of their most raw and aggressive debauchery to date on "Out To Die", which was recorded at various locations in both Norway and Portugal (Blasphemer's current location) during December of 2011. The bar has once again been raised. Another milestone of putrid black thrash metal has been born.

"Out To Die" track listing:

01. Trenches
02. Fed To The Flames
03. Abbadon
04. The Grin From The Gallows
05. Withheld
06. Priest's Hellish Fiend
07. Deathwish
08. Out To Die

The songs "Fed To The Flames" and "Abbadon" are available for streaming below.