Birth of Aurora – Sapere Aude (Self-Released)
Friday, 12th June 2020
It’s tougher and tougher to find some market space for bands within the tech death community. With many deciding that the best route to take is to continue upping the tech/wow factor and taking the genre into even more dense territory, sometimes it’s nice just to have some balance. Italy’s Birth of Aurora bring exactly the type of tech and progressive elements that you’d expect to the table for their first offering, but it’s done so well that it leaves little room for complaint.
Consisting of four tracks and an intro/outro, Sapere Aude gives just enough of a taste of what Birth of Aurora has to offer. Falling squarely into the Obscura/Beyond Creation side of things, expect a blend of techy fireworks, playful basswork, and some lush progressive melodies along the way. It’s all executed perfectly, from a quiet acoustic opening into explosive riffing on “Dreaming the Great Rebellion” to some melodic experimentation on “Falling between the Awareness of Existence” with an atmospheric break and just a sprinkling of cleaner vocals. The band’s chops and ability to blend the more melodic and instrumentally-savvy tech components together is impressive, and the music continues to move along at a generous pacing without bogging itself down too much at any moment. Holding to tracks around the 5-minute mark helps with this too, in keeping it from becoming too self-indulgent.
Sapere Aude is a solid and enjoyable EP for those who like the techy side of extreme metal. There’s lots of little moments to dive into, without making them the absolute centerpiece of the music. Which means that even if you aren’t completely down with tech, you should still be able to enjoy what Birth of Aurora does with their basswork and melodies.
