Whether you’ve recognized it or not, over the past few years northwestern American has become a great place to locate some class black metal. An example of the most popular project would obviously be Wolves In The Throne Room, although they are far from the only group worth mention to be spawned from that area; from the likes of the nature-obsessed Alda to the mysterious trio that makes up Fell Voices, the Cascadian black metal scene as it has come to be known (which endearingly shows support to its fellow projects by constant paired touring and advertising) seems to be carrying the future of black metal on its broad shoulders. Formed in 2008, the Seattle based Addaura may be the newest face on the scene, but if the 2010 self titled demo
Addaura is any testament to their skill, it will be soon that this band makes their presence known worldwide as a black metal frontrunner.
While one would expect a band such as Addaura to be praised due to perhaps a new ground breaking approach to the atmospheric black metal in which they perform, nothing could actually be farther from the truth; the band actually plays a very standard form of atmospheric black metal, they just do it very,
very well. They playing of two guitarists Steve and Ryan is extremely organic; melodic and flowing, their tremolo picked lines seamlessly progress from riff to riff, where every transition is natural continuation of the playing that proceeded it. For its majority, second track “Bereavement” , is a perfect example of the bands more agrestal approach to black metal; that is until the latter half of the song considerably slows down the tempo, opting instead to be dominated by a slow, pulsing drum rhythm and crushing harmonized guitar leads and the deep gutturals of backup vocalist Steve.
Although musically adheres very strictly to the usual black metal aesthetics, lyrically, they are quite the anomaly; instead of childishly preaching Satanism, or describing epic tales of frostbitten mountaintops, the band chooses much more interesting subjects of lyrics, such as stories based on Native Americans and interestingly enough, even Chilean romances. “White Deer”, details a tribe of Native American’s “rite of passage” ritual with lyrics such as-
“Go into the night, the white deer beckons /Stealth has served you well /Time has come to test your will /The adored is forever true /Fore secrets concealed within fire and smoke. While these stories themselves are very interesting, no doubt it’s the conviction in the voice of female vocalist Chantal that fuels those words to epic proportions. Hoarse and raw, she obviously, puts everything into her performance and as a result, will soon be known as one of the genres best vocalists.
Whether it be breathtaking atmospheric black metal compositions (“Through The Rain”), melancholic folk breaks (“White Deer”) or bass-heavy clean breaks (“Ochre and Ore”), Addaura’s execution is near flawless. Taking touring rounds with location-mates Necrite and Elk, the band is doing its best to be recognized, but with an album like
Addaura in circulation, it’s only a matter of time before everyone knows of this unique and marvelous band.
