Founded in Poznań, Poland in 2015 and now living in Reykjavik, Iceland, the black metal band Above Aurora began walking a desolate path through bleak musical terrain in their 2016 debut album (aptly named Onward Desolation), and then took another step deeper into emotional darkness with their 2018 EP, Path To Ruin (also aptly named). And now they are ready for the release of their second album, The Shrine of Deterioration.

No one familiar with the band’s trance-inducing strategies and minimalist (though quite powerful) modes of expression, or the chilling hopelessness of their moods, should expect any radical revision of their style, which has already been powerfully established. And indeed, The Shrine of Deterioration is also well-named. Yet the album is not simply the same dire-wolf that stalked our darkest moods in the preceding releases. Above Aurora continue to walk their path, but they have become even more sure-footed as guides to the cold, lightless places within us all — as you will discover through our full stream of the album in advance of its June 6 release by Pagan Records. Continue reading »