Shortly before the official release of AARA‘s forthcoming long player, “Triade III: Nyx“, Black Metal Promotion YT channel premieres the full album stream. The concluding part of the Melmoth trilogy is a suite of emotionally taut songs in which sublimated choirs, disembodied voices and myriad otherworldly textures preserve atmosphere while swarming, hyper-lyrical guitars and pounding jackhammer percussion provide Industrial-level tensile strength.
All three “Triade” albums examine Charles Robert Maturin‘s 19th century Gothic Novel, “Melmoth The Wanderer“. Although this classic work should be understood within the context of its time, its themes are still universal and prevalent. Vocalist and lyricist Fluss expands:
“I think parallels to today’s world can be drawn from every historical work. To give you one example: Philosophers Socrates and Plato raged about the youth of their time, and research shows that the devaluation of the younger generation has basically started since the Sumerian clay tablets of 3.000 BC – it is a constant in human history. People keep nagging at the same questions and topics. In the novel, for example, the following are recurring, major themes: religion, morality, and love. Maturin’s main theme is a critique of Catholicism which is certainly still a topical issue for other faiths or political orientations. However, Maturin’s view is so overshadowed by his own Anglican beliefs that it is difficult to draw any general meaning for the present day. So, we have always regarded the work as an entertaining work of black romanticism without seeking any religious or political answers in it.“
As with earlier installments of the trilogy, “Triade III: Nyx” has received mesmerizing visual decoration via painter Michael Handt. Since second album “En Ergô Einai” (2020) the Swiss neo-romantic artist has painted all the band’s cover artworks, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of each album (find an interview with the artist here). Fluss elaborates on the approach taken for “Nyx“:
“The cover shows a deserted path at night, lit only by a lantern. This was the only cover of the Triade albums that Michael Handt did not paint specially for us. We chose it from his earlier body of works, because for us it reflected exactly the atmosphere that we associate with the end of the Melmoth novel. Melmoth has to face his fate at the end of the story, his pact with the Devil has expired and he has not been able to find a soul to redeem for his salvation. The protagonist of the novel experiences the last hours of the wanderer, through a locked door he hears all kinds of terrible noises. At the end of the night, he finds only footprints, which finally disappear on the coast. The cover symbolizes Melmoth’s abandoned, final journey, the darkness, and the night before a new morning dawns.“
“Triade III: Nyx” will be released on CD, vinyl and digital on March 31st. Pre-orders are possible via the label’s EU, US and Bandcamp shops.
Switzerland’s AARA was founded in 2018 by vocalist Fluss and multi-instrumentalist Berg to create art highly influenced by atmospheric Black Metal. Sporting an epic, classical feel, their sweeping compositions aim to take the listener through the darkest alleys of human existence.
Soon after releasing their debut record “So fallen alle Tempel” in early 2019, AARA joined forces with Debemur Morti Productions, releasing their mosaic EP “Anthropozän” that same year.
Barely a year after their debut, AARA unveiled a new full-length record in April of 2020. A conceptual look into Europe’s Age of Enlightenment, “En Ergô Einai” sees AARA take their accomplished sound to new heights of mature artistic expression. Opened with a haunting acoustic intro courtesy of Vindsval (BLUT AUS NORD), “En Ergô Einai” is a triumph of fluid melodic euphoria and classical elegance, setting an even higher watermark in a bright, young discography. The third album and beginning of a trilogy, namely “Triade I: Eos“, was released in March 2021. In this epic and dramatic new work of art, AARA are interpreting the Gothic novel “Melmoth The Wanderer” (1820) of Irish writer Charles Robert Maturin.
Venturing forth into the next chapters of Maturin‘s work, AARA crafted the second part of their trilogy, “Triade II: Hemera“. The six tracks of brutally melodic, top-tier Black Metal was released in May 2022. The third and final album of the Melmoth trilogy will see the light of day on March 31st, 2023.