Lunar aurora
| Lunar aurora | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Extreme Metal (until 2007), from 2011 Metal with further influences |
| founding | 1994 |
| resolution | 2012 |
| Website | www.lunaraurora.de |
| Founding members | |
| Andreas “Whyrhd” Bauer (until the end of 2005, beginning of 2006) parts of the singing on prayer |
|
Vocals, electric guitar |
Benjamin "Aran" King |
| Last occupation | |
Vocals, electric guitar, drums |
Benjamin "Aran" King |
Vocals, electric guitar, drums |
Andreas "Whyrhd" Bauer |
| former members | |
| Biil on the two demos, as well as on world walkers |
|
| Nathaniel up to and including the publication of On a Hike ... |
|
Drums |
Bernhard Klepper on Of Stargates and Bloodstained Celestial Spheres and Ars moriendi |
Drums |
Narg briefly between Of Stargates and Bloodstained Celestial Spheres and Ars moriendi |
Drums |
Profanatitas on A haudiga Fluag and moon |
Drums (live) |
Christian “Malphas” Schindl between moon and devotion |
Keyboard (live) |
Stefan "Akhorahil" Fischer between moon and prayer |
Keyboard, vocals, electric bass |
Constantin "Sindar" King between soul fire and devotion |
Lunar Aurora was a German metal band from Rosenheim that had existed since 1994 . The members of the band changed frequently, with Benjamin "Aran" König, Andreas "Whyrhd" Bauer and Constantin "Sindar" König being the three main actors of the band. In addition to two demos and some contributions for splits and compilations, the band released nine albums. The lyrics are in both German and English .
Origin of the band name
The words lunar and aurora are of Latin origin and refer on the one hand to the moon (Latin: lunaris 'belonging to the moon' from Latin luna 'moon'), and on the other hand to Aurora , the Roman goddess of the dawn . The band says the name is "Old English", but both words did not appear in English until the 14th century ( Aurora ) and the 15th century ( Lunar ) , respectively , according to which "Old English" does not refer to the linguistic historical period May relate to Old English .
The name comes from Aran and Whyrhd; According to the latter, the name means “in the literal sense 'Mondhof'. In a broader sense we see both the visible radiation and the energetic work of the moon on our earth as well as on our spirit and our souls. And Black Metal offers these unique deep spiritual spheres that make it so much more than just music. " In an interview, Aran gives Mondaura as the meaning . The meaning for the band is "the association with the visible aura (the ring of light) and the invisible aura of the moon, which hits and moves us inside". In addition, the moon stands for things like "the night, the subconscious and the metaphysical ".
history
The founders Benjamin "Aran" König and Andreas "Whyrhd" Bauer met in 1994, and in October 1995 they recorded the first demo cassette A Wandering Winter Dream Beneath the Cold Moon . In addition to Aran and Whyrhd, keyboard player Biil and drummer Nathaniel were involved. The latter founded the band Mortuus Infradaemoni together with another former drummer of the band, Profanatitas, in May 2005.
After another demo and after the band had signed a record deal with Voices Productions, Lunar Aurora released their first album Weltengänger in 1996 , which was re-released in 2007. In the spring of 1996 the band gave their first live appearance in Fulda , together with Impending Doom and Temperance. On the following work, Seelenfeuer , Aran's brother Constantin "Sindar" König played the keyboard for the first time. He joined the band in 1996 after Biil left the band for personal reasons. Also Seelenfeuer was re-released in 2005 on Cold Dimensions. This was followed by a 7 "EP with the German black metal band Secrets of the Moon , for which Lunar Aurora contributed a song titled Auf einer Fahrt, which is included as a bonus track on the 2005 version of the album Seelenfeuer .
In 1999 Of Stargates and Bloodstained Celestial Spheres was released via Kettenhund Records. On this album, as on the next, Bernhard Klepper, an old friend of Aran's, played drums after Nathaniel had to leave the band because of knee problems. After a label change to Ars metalli, which had been carried out at the same time with the German band Nagelfar , the band recorded the album Ars moriendi in 2000 . This CD was re-released in 2004 after a musical revision and with a new cover artwork on Supernal Records. The cover artwork for this re-release was designed by Aran, who was generally responsible for the graphic design of Lunar Aurora. Between the release of Of Stargates and Bloodstained Celestial Spheres and Ars moriendi there was a short interlude with Narg from the band Funebris on drums, which did not last long due to stylistic differences. After Ars moriendi , Bernhard Klepper left the band again because he had moved to another city, whereupon Aran took over the drums.
Problems with Ars metalli arose during the recording of Elixir of Sorrow , whereupon the band switched to the Italians The Oath after a few years without a label and released Elixir of Sorrow there in 2004. But after there were problems with this label, only Elixir of Sorrow was released there, while cycle was presented to the public via Whyrhd's newly founded record company Cold Dimensions.
(from left to right: Stefan "Skoarth" Botz, Andreas "Whyrhd" Bauer, Benjamin "Aran" König)
A year later, Lunar Aurora recorded the seventh album, Moon , which was again published by Cold Dimensions. When Mond was released, Whyrhd withdrew as an active member of the band, as the band, Cold Dimensions, and his professional activity had been incompatible. The eighth and so far last album, Andacht , which was recorded in November 2006 at Helion Studios and for which a trailer was even recorded, was also released in January 2007 on Cold Dimensions. The members announced that they would put Lunar Aurora on hold for the time being after the release, although a later reactivation was not categorically excluded. Some reasons for this were Aran's devotional expenditures , as well as the point that Aran and Sindar planned to move on to new challenges. The former explained in an interview:
"One of the reasons is that after 12 years of LUNAR AURORA I notice that I would like to go other ways and will certainly try it out in the future."
The band rarely gave concerts, but played for example in 1997 as the opening act for the Norwegian band Emperor . Reasons for the rare stage presence were explained by Whyrhd in an interview that was made before the release of Elixir of Sorrow :
"We rarely played / play live because, firstly, we always had line-up problems [sic!], And secondly, we always wanted to keep gigs as something special and special."
Aran has been involved in the dark ambient project Trist, which he founded, since 2000 , while Whyrhd is the singer for the Greek band Nocternity . The third devotional member , Skoarth, who has been guitarist with Lunar Aurora since December 2005, plays the electric guitar in the Munich dark metal band Somber Serenity.
In July 2011, a new album entitled Hoagascht was announced on the Cold Dimension label's homepage , which will be released in winter 2011/2012 after a break of several years. As with the song A haudiga Fluag , the lyrics should be written in the Upper Bavarian dialect. Most recently the band consisted again of the founding members Aran and Whyrhd. In autumn 2012 they announced the breakup of the band on their website.
style
music
Musically, Lunar Aurora is based on a rougher variant of Black Metal, although keyboards or samples are often used. For example, the guitars of the song Die Nacht from the album cycle are heavily distorted, while a keyboard melody can be heard in the background and a three-minute passage without drums and distorted guitar in the middle of the song. In the Andacht album, on the other hand, at the beginning of each song there is a part with a different design, B. in the song Glück a Gregorian monk chant .
The typical black metal blast beats and double bass drumming are used on the drums . With the exception of Devotional , where a drum machine was used, the rest of the albums were recorded with drummers. Technically, the guitar riffs are rather simple. Aran said in an interview that what he needed was the skill he needed to achieve what he wanted to achieve. Whyrhd also stated that they were not virtuosos and would not strive to be.
“In principle, I differentiate between 2 types of music, one is“ head music ”and the other is“ belly music ”. For me, belly music only aims at the world of emotions, meditation music or the music we make is one of them. "
The band's vocals are based on screaming . In addition, clear chants or spoken passages are sometimes used. As a rule, each of the core members was involved in the singing - Aran and Whyrhd since the beginning and from Elixir of Sorrow also Sindar. On prayer , where Whyrhd was no longer an active member of the band, he acted as a guest vocalist for a few passages.
Texts
The lyrics of the band are primarily written in English or German , with the song A haudiga Fluag for the split LP with Paysage D'Hiver containing a text in the Bavarian dialect . In terms of content, Lunar Aurora deal with dark topics, but without making use of the satanic content that is decisive for Black Metal; Aran stated to the Legacy that Satanism was "a creed, that is, a religion, and we completely reject religion"; He emphasized to Whiskey-soda.de that there was “no direct influence from satanic, pagan, literary, philosophical or other directions” at Lunar Aurora, but only the musicians themselves. During a conversation at the time of devotion at metal.de , Aran noticed the following, not only related to the texts:
“At that time [around the beginning of Lunar Aurora, note] I couldn't quite identify with the way in which Black Metal writes texts, depicts logos, and deals with the entire overarching topic of“ darkness ”. That has continued to this day. I make the music because with it I can express what I want to express, not the other way around. I don't need all of these enforced standards. "
Whyrhd said in an interview about the texts that they deal with spiritual subjects with motives such as mind and soul, as well as the development of the same, spheres, life and death, pain, torment and hell , moon and stars, but not only for the purpose of to create an inner image, but also to capture the “energy” behind it.
Finding out a concrete meaning from the texts is often difficult because on the surface they appear to be complexly interwoven. Aran replied in an interview to the question of whether knowledge of the texts is important:
"Sure enough, it is better if you also deal with the texts ... no matter how metaphysical they may be: they have their effect and their message!"
When asked why the band write a lot of their lyrics in German, Aran replied in an early interview, at the time of Of Stargates and Bloodstained Celestial Spheres , that it was easier to write in your mother tongue because “the dictionary is in the other hand this venture "could prevent. The German language also sounds “harder”, which fits in well with the overall picture. In a later interview, he stated that "from a certain information content and various puns [...] it becomes simply too laborious" to write English-language texts. But it is also "nicer to use your own language". In the same interview he names Whyrhd mostly responsible for the English-language texts. Regarding the idea of writing a Bavarian-language song, Aran states that it is natural "to write a text in your own dialect". In addition, Bavarian is "much coarser [...] than normal German," which makes it very suitable.
On the album Hoagascht , released in 2012, all lyrics are in Bavarian dialect; As Aran explained when asked, it is the Upper Bavarian dialect from the Rosenheim and Ebersberg area, from which the musicians come, although the dialects sometimes vary slightly between districts or localities. The decision to use Bavarian lyrics was made because the new songs were going "in a very earthy and calm direction" and the band "knew that our local dialect would fit well here".
Evaluation and criticism
The reviews of the band's albums were often positive, but sometimes also negative. The reviews of Seelenfeuer , on the one hand from metal1.info , on the other hand from the rock-hard magazine and the online magazine Vönger, provide a strong contrast in the rating . For example, Patrick Käseberg from metal1.info says at the end of his review:
"No doubt," Seelenfeuer "knows how to please all along the line, it towers over everything."
Although some negative points are also taken up in this criticism (in summary: “it does not quite reach the later masterful works”), the evaluator mentions many positive aspects from his point of view. On the other hand, there are - at least partially - the ratings of Rock Hard and von Vönger . Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann from Rock Hard writes that “only the midfield [remains] for Lunar Aurora”, or that the work “is [absolutely not] original”. Reviewer Herjulf von Vönger conveys his impression as follows:
"The band tries to write complex music, but does not realize that this complexity has to slowly develop in the songs [...]."
Often in reviews one can find the statement that Lunar Aurora are one of the leading or most important bands from the Black Metal environment, especially in Germany. Elsewhere, the “class” of the band is highlighted. An example of this is Haiko Nahm from Tinnitus magazine in a review to devotion , where he describes Lunar Aurora as "one of the simply best Black Metal bands that ever existed". However, there are also less enthusiastic voices. For example, Pedro Azevedon from Chronicles of Chaos praises the band in a review of Mond , but he does not call them consistently outstanding.
Some reviewers describe the band - directly or indirectly - as rather unknown. Some reviews emphasize that the Lunar Auroras albums are generally on a high level. Rüdiger Stehle from powermetal.de, for example, uses the words “another direct hit” or “long tradition of exceptional works” in a devotional review . Patrick Käseberg from metal1.info writes in a review of the same album - in the context of the previous albums - “only performances at the very highest level”. Haiko Nahm from Tinnitus Magazine, already quoted above, uses the following formulation:
"Hardly any other band has created such consistently first-class, poignant and unique Black Metal over the years as Lunar Aurora."
Another point that is often encountered is the stylistic independence of the band. Rüdiger Stehle sees slight parallels to bands such as Darkthrone , Burzum and Satyricon in his criticism of devotion , but with the addition that these parallels “never come too close to these icons of the scene”. Alboin from the online magazine metal.de sees “the supposed [sic!] Little things” as the reason for the independence . Whyrhd states that the band is naturally influenced by the music they listen to, i.e. Bathory , Darkthrone, Beherit , Samael , Master's Hammer , Celtic Frost , Possessed , Venom's Live Recordings, Mayhem , Necromantia , Sarcófago and Burzum, es however, never plan to sound or be like it, but to compose independently and see what it will sound like.
In many reviews, the atmosphere of the songs or a possible effect on the listener is discussed. In a review of Ars moriendi , the reviewer JF from Legacy magazine states that the “arrangements of the individual songs with their original melodies, dressed in a repulsive sound garment” cast a spell over the listener. Arlette Huguenin of Vampster mentioned in the course of a review on Ars moriendi , specifically the song flames of desire , the indwelling of strong "suffering and feeling" in screaming vocals . From his point of view, Patrick Käseberg from metal1.info tries to describe the atmosphere in two different reviews - one on cycle , one on Elixir of Sorrow - as follows:
"One floats up into completely different spheres, stands above the world and things, the spirit unfolds freely and travels through the world of sound, even tries to reach the source, which is of course impossible."
“Of course the mood is omnipresent and always very close, but here it is still slightly different, here [with the songs Kerkerseele , as well as Hier und Jetzt , note] you merge with it and open yourself to the music in an almost too strong way Dimensions. Moving music, oh yes, and nothing else. "
Discography
- 1995: A Wandering Winterdream Beneath the Cold Moon (Demo, MC , self-distribution)
- 1996: On dark wings (album, CDR / MC, self-distribution)
- 1996: Weltengänger (album, CD / MC, Voices Productions; re-releases 2007/18: CD / 2xLP, Cold Dimensions)
- 1998: On a Hike / Through Golden Spheres (Split EP with Secrets of the Moon , 7 "vinyl, Darkwind Records)
- 1998: Seelenfeuer (album, CD, Voices Productions; re-releases 2008/18: CD / 2xLP, Cold Dimensions)
- 1999: Of Stargates and Bloodstained Celestial Spheres (album, CD, Kettenhund Records; re-releases 2014: CD / 2xLP, Cold Dimensions)
- 2002: A Haudiga Fluag / Schwarzä Feus & Schwarzäs Isä (Split EP with Paysage D'Hiver , LP, Eternity Records)
- 2002: Forgotten, Lost In The Mists Behind Mortality (Compilation, CDR, Benighted Mirror)
- 2000: Ars moriendi (album, CD, Ars Metalli; MC, Night Birds Records; re-releases 2014: CD / LP, Cold Dimensions)
- 2004: Elixir of Sorrow (album, CD, The Oath; 2xLP, Deviant Records; re-releases 2014: 2xCD / 2xLP, Cold Dimensions)
- 2004: Cycle (album, CD, Cold Dimensions)
- 2005: Mond (album, CD / LP, Cold Dimensions)
- 2007: Devotion (album, CD, Cold Dimensions)
- 2012: Hoagascht (album, CD / LP, Cold Dimensions)
- 2016: Crypt of Postmortem Ceremonials (split compilation with Nordlys , 2xCD / 3xLP, Cold Dimensions)
Contributions to compilations (selection)
- 1996: Under cover of the night on horrors of the underworld Vol. I
- 1999: Dragon fire on Vönger - Aeons of bondage
- 2002: The empty throne on root spirits
- 2003: The Wanderer of the Moon of Fire on Night Magic - Mørkeskye Compilation
- 2005: Grimm to drink - God's scourge
Web links
- Official website
- Lunar Aurora at Allmusic (English)
- Lunar Aurora at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Haiko Nahm: Lunar Aurora - Whyrhd - February 2007. Who dares nothing, wins nothing. ( Memento of October 31, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved September 25, 2012.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Interview: Lunar Aurora (12/11/06) . ( Memento of November 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved on July 6, 2012.
- ^ Robert K. Barnhart (ed.): Chambers Dictionary of Etymology . Chambers Harrap Publishers, New York, 1988, ISBN 0-550-14230-4 , p. 65.
- ^ Robert K. Barnhart (ed.): Chambers Dictionary of Etymology . Chambers Harrap Publishers, New York, 1988, ISBN 0-550-14230-4 , p. 615.
- ↑ a b c Markus Eck: Universelle Misanthropie, accessed on July 1, 2007.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Frank Stöver: Lunar Aurora accessed on October 28, 2011.
- ↑ Cold Dimensions: Mortuus Infradaemoni ( Memento from January 23, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English) accessed on September 25, 2012.
- ↑ Cold Dimensions: Lunar Aurora ( Memento from January 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English) accessed on September 25, 2012.
- ^ Sperber-Illustrations :: Gallery ( Memento from August 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on September 8, 2008.
- ↑ a b c Johannes Paul Köhler: Lunar Aurora. At the end of a hike ( memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). In: Legacy , No. 47, accessed September 25, 2012.
- ↑ Lunar Aurora . Myrrthronth, Black Metal Index. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
- ↑ a b c d Alboin: Lunar Aurora - Interview accessed July 1, 2007.
- ↑ a b c wot4N: Lunar Aurora - 'In the forest there were two paths and I took the one that was little trodden', accessed on April 2, 2007.
- ↑ Somber Serenity - Stefan ( memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on April 2, 2007.
- ↑ Cold Dimensions: Lunar Aurora - Hoagascht .
- ^ Cold Dimensions: News, accessed September 8, 2011.
- ↑ a b Steve: Lunar Aurora - The Return of Upper Bavaria ( Memento from February 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on December 21, 2011.
- ↑ Alboin: Lunar Aurora - Interview with Aran and Whyrhd on the band's return ( memento of November 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 18, 2011.
- ↑ "It has always been clear that also Lunar Aurora will end some day. And this autumn we felt that it is time to lay the band to rest. We came to that decision for various reasons, the two following may be the most significant. On one hand our imaginations of future musical projects are difficult to reconcile with Lunar Aurora, on the other hand we feel that Lunar Aurora is out of tune with these times. " Lunar Aurora. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
- ↑ a b c Oliver Heilemann: Lunar Aurora. The definition of black metal? ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). In: Legacy , No. 2, accessed September 25, 2012.
- ^ Tony F .: 21st Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2012 (WGT). Nonpop, June 10, 2012, accessed June 29, 2012 .
- ↑ a b Lunar Aurora - Soul Fire ( Memento from October 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on May 1, 2007.
- ↑ a b Wolf-Rüdiger Mühlmann: Lunar Aurora. Soul fire . In: Rock Hard , No. 134, accessed May 1, 2007.
- ↑ Herjulf: Lunar Aurora # Seelenfeuer accessed on May 1, 2007.
- ↑ a b c Rüdiger Stehle: Lunar Aurora - Prayer accessed on September 8, 2008.
- ↑ Jan Jaedike: Lunar Aurora. Ars Moriendi . In: Rock Hard , No. 171, accessed May 1, 2007.
- ↑ a b Haiko Nahm: Lunar Aurora - Andacht ( memento of October 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on September 25, 2012.
- ↑ "This isn't to say that each and every passage in the album is brilliant, but there is some excellent material here and the standards are kept high throughout." ( Pedro Azevedo : Pedro Azevedo: Lunar Aurora - Mond (English) retrieved on May 9, 2007.)
- ↑ a b Lunar Aurora - Cycle ( memento from October 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on April 29, 2007.
- ^ Rüdiger Stehle: Lunar Aurora - cycle accessed on April 29, 2007.
- ↑ Lunar Aurora - Devotion ( Memento of October 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) accessed on April 29, 2007.
- ^ Alboin: Lunar Aurora - Devotional accessed April 29, 2007.
- ↑ JF: Lunar Aurora - 'Ars Moriendi' . ( Memento of February 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved September 25, 2012.
- ^ Arlette Huguenin: Lunar Aurora: Ars Moriendi, accessed April 30, 2007.
- ↑ Lunar Aurora - Elixir of Sorrow . ( Memento of October 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved on April 29, 2007.
