Whales And Aurora - The Shipwreck - review
Whales And Aurora - The Shipwreck - review
Tracklist
01. Refused Recounting Words02. Achieving The Unavoidable
03. The Aground Hard-Ship
04. Abandoned Among Echoes
05. Awakened By The Aurora
06. A New Awareness
07. Floating On Calm Waters
A review by
BitterCOld October 26, 2012
The Shipwreck marks the debut of the Italian seafaring quintet, Whales And Aurora.
Musically these mariners are much more akin to their Netherlander counterparts in Ortega than the German disciples of Melville, although Ahab seems to have turned in this direction as well.
The songs and the album itself build, ebb, and flow based primarily around the regularly charted waters of the prototypical post-metal build up, only W&A seem to execute it more convincingly than most the similar releases I've reviewed. Both songs and the album in general also fall away to quiet, serene sections.
Much like the sea itself, the album is a mix of tranquil beauty and raging waters.
Some of the tracks feature raw-throated, hoarse shouted vocals espousing Sartre-esque views on consuming a steady diet of negativity and, thus, accepting angst. Give the band credit for deviating from the obvious shipwreck-centric lyrics one might expect.
The remainder of the tracks, "The Aground Hard-ship", "Awakened By The Aurora", and "Floating On Calm Waters" (a beautiful album closer) are instrumental pieces.
Truthfully, on the port side they aren't doing anything that hasn't been done before. However on the starboard side, the whole thing is just crafted and performed well enough that it didn't matter terribly much at all to me that they were happy to sail around the Adriatic rather than head for that dark, unexplored corner of the metal map which warns "There be dragons!"
The first effort from Whales And Aurora is about as enjoyable as a booze cruise? a shipwreck of a release it is not.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written on 26.10.2012 by
Written on 26.10.2012 by
BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009. Comments
Comments:
22
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 Posts: 6941 |
Posts: 6941
Such a gorgeous album! And no, it's not technically anything "new" but it feels new to some degree. The particular way they blend these genres doesn't remind me of any other bands. It's a breath of fresh air for fans of varied post metal, I'd say. A big one. And yes, atmosphere! The nautical theme is so very evident in the music. "Much like the sea itself, the album is a mix of tranquil beauty and raging waters." Perfectly said.
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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Posts: 40071 Written by Susan on 26.10.2012 at 07:16 I totally hear a not so good Cult Of Luna when I play Whales And Aurora. Fun quite good stuff with potential, which isn't there by a long shot (f.e. Ortega are a ong way ahead as of course are the band they sound most like, Cult Of Luna) which I rated a 7.3
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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Posts: 5289
This one has been on my navigational chart for a while now  Another fine review Craig.
---- rekt
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Posts: 11963
I like nautical and everything you described. Deeply intrigued by this one.
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Posts: 5989
Doom, post, gaze, and psychedelic you say? Sounds too intriguing to not check out, will add this to my "to listen to list" for sure.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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Sounds disturbingly like Cult Of Luna. Being that CoL postponed their album till the beginning of 2013 - just what I needed!
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Sounds headier than a simple shipwreck and worthwhile it seems. Good stuff.
---- 
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Posts: 40071 Written by Valentin B on 28.10.2012 at 03:59 yep, right top end corner  masterpiece NOPE, at least not yet
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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Posts: 40071 Written by Valentin B on 27.10.2012 at 15:05 I think you should look better, because there certainly is whale on the cover
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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Posts: 10108 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 28.10.2012 at 03:50 oh dammit, it's that thing on the right. MASTERPIECE
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Posts: 6941 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 28.10.2012 at 03:50 Dude, good eye. I missed that completely!!
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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Posts: 40071 Written by Susan on 28.10.2012 at 07:09 Thank God for glasses
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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Posts: 3099 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 28.10.2012 at 03:08 Maybe I need stronger glasses but how did you quote Valentin there when he posted 50 minutes after it says you quoted him 
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Posts: 6941
Daylight savings? Really weird...
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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Posts: 40071 Written by R'Vannith on 29.10.2012 at 04:40 Like Susan said, some sort of weird bug which has to do with daylight saving last weekend.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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Posts: 4935
Whalecore is gaining ground, though it seems bands are deviating from the true core of the genre. It occurs me a power metal band should totally write a concept album about Free Willy. Why should there just be a land of the free? I agree this sounds a lot like CoL. Competent stuff, though it'll probably be just a blip on the radar by the end of the year. Hilarious review.
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Posts: 3099 Written by IronAngel on 29.10.2012 at 12:41 Gaining ground... That can't be good for the whales
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