There’s nothing quite like an interesting story; especially one meticulously told. Swiss atmospheric black metal innovators Aara embrace this idea more so than most. Beginning in 2021, the band began a planned trilogy of albums based on Charles Maturin’s novel Melmoth the Wanderer – a tale revolving around a man who sold his soul to Satan in exchange for immortality, and that man’s desperate travels to coax others to take the burden of his deal gone awry. This story is told from many perspectives, each of which are like a piece of a puzzle that builds the narrative of Melmoth’s existence. The details of which are told in grisly detail, reminding one of Icare’s poetic single song album Charogne in terms of the painstaking care given to the subject matter.
Aara have been releasing albums at a one per year clip, first being 2019’s So fallen alle Tempel. The Melmoth trilogy debuted with Triade I: Eos and continued with Triade II: Hemera one year later. The conclusion of the story is what brings us together here with Triade III: Nyx. Musically, Aara harken from the mid to late 90s style of raw black metal, but entangled with an encapsulating ambiance and a sense of the melodic. What Aara has been able to accomplish thus far is a feat many haven’t been able to accomplish – balance. Icelandic peers Auðn and Danish act Afsky (much more depressive; review of Om hundrede år here) are some of the few who have also achieved a harmonious union of fierce black metal with just the right amount of melody and atmosphere as to not tip the scales too far in any one direction. Aara have dialed in more with each subsequent release, and the now annual revelation of a new album comes with great anticipation, as each continues to build on what came before. This couldn’t be more true with Triade III: Nyx.
What this album provides is literally more of everything. “Heimgesucht,” for example, drips with Berg’s melodic tremolo picked lead guitars, while vocalist Fluss’ agonized piercing scream and drummer J.’s chaotic and thunderous rhythms carry the mood. Tempos smoothly bob and weave like flowing water; from the morose to the all out smoldering and everything in between. Entries like “Emphase der Seelenpein” and “Des Wanderers Traum” ooze with downtrodden melodies so emotive that the listener can feel it in their bones, offering a profound sadness amongst patches of chilling blackened guitars.
“Moribunda” carries thick eerie elements layered with beautified chants in the back of the mix, with Berg’s blazing guitars swaying the mood to its most domineering of the album. “Unstern” follows, pairing well together like a high-brow food and wine combination that compliments exquisitely with ripping screams and a sense of foreboding urgency. Closing song “Edo et Edam” does a stellar job to wrap the album up with a chef’s kiss – from haunting clean guitar passages and ominous tolling bells in the intro to the slow build of intensity that erupts with a gigantic laborious release, only to finish with a final single toll of the bell.
In comparison to the other two entries in this trilogy, as well as preceding works, Triade III: Nyx levels up every conceivable element to be more impactful, sorrowful, chilling, and downright soul crushing. The foggy and cold low-fi production emphasizes the mood, cultivating the impeccable aesthetic that Aara needed to finish the story with aplomb. A grim and dour tale is completed in what is Aara’s greatest album so far. This surely will be one of the most dire, sweepingly majestic black metal albums that will be released in 2023. One can only wonder what Berg and company have in store for us next (hopefully in 2024), and rest assured, we’ll be eagerly awaiting their next chapter with restless anticipation.