Aurora - Dead Electric Nightmares
Lucretia Records
Melodic Death Metal
10 songs (47'12)
Release year: 2002
Aurora, Lucretia Records
Reviewed by Crims

Dead Electric Nightmares was quite the surprise for me. I had heard good things about Aurora, who hail from Denmark, so when I had the opportunity to review their latest release I jumped on the chance to do so. What we have here is a band who mixes elements from early Gothenburg Death, most noticeably Dark Tranquility and then blends it with a very heavy dose of that sort of Gothic Doom that Kataonia has been playing lately, and that was more or less started by Paradise Lost on their release Icon. The mix is quite successful and unique; not too many bands blend those two styles.

When it comes down to it, there are some very good songs to be found on here. The opening track, Black Heavy Cat and A Perfect Light are probably the best examples of the very catchy and clever chord progression that Aurora use to produce melodies that are very enjoyable. This is where Aurora is at their best. They use the chord progression and melody style of newer Katatonia, and then spice it up with more aggressive drumming, song writing, and slight progressive hints via a decent amount of tempo changes and structured tracks. As mentioned, the songs are composed in a manner that always offers something new to the listener. Aurora is not overly complicated, but they throw in enough twists and turns to keep from getting boring- on the good tracks that is. Aurora has even given us some more doom-influenced tracks with Chains Of God and Watching, Falling, Breathing, which eventually speeds up and becomes one of the more progressive tracks on Dead Electric Nightmares.

More of the aggressive and melodic death factors come in the form of rough vocals courtesy of Claus Forlund. The vocals are done in a similar manner to Dark Tranquility, early In Flames, and Soilwork. The vocals are decent but are complimented by clean vocals that sound a lot like Anathema. So the clean vocals give a pleasant surprise to the CD and are used quite well, in fact, they added a very good atmosphere that I would have like to have heard more of. They don’t overwhelm the CD and are used on a very sparingly basis, but they are definitely there. Other highlights include well done drumming from Morten G. Sorensen who provides the CD with precise double bass at the appropriate times and quality fills when needed. The lyrics are also worth mentioning, as they are quite somber and well composed; I found the content of the lyrics fitted the dark mood of the music perfectly.

Most of the tracks are written very well on Dead Electric Nightmares, but something becomes apparent the further you get into the CD. While the songs are structured in unique and different manners, the occasional samey riff pops up. It doesn’t kill the CD, but it is noticeable. I wasn’t a huge fan of the final track, Chains Of God, however, I do know a lot people dig this slower, more atmospheric song style more than I, so I’m not taking off too many points for this track. Other complaints include some riffs that sound too similar to Kataonia, as well as some weaker, almost filler songs here and there. I say almost filler because they are still listenable songs with their own merits, but to me it seems that the amount of effort put into the the majority of the tracks were not put into some songs. Although keep in mind, this only refers to roughly about 2 songs of 10 overall, so in that sense Dead Electric Nightmares is still worthy of a purchase if you’re a fan of the aforementioned influences.

Killing Songs :
Black Heavy Cat, Metaphysical Electric, New God Rising, A Perfect Light, Two Dice And A Silent Disguise
Crims quoted 84 / 100
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