01. The Missing
02. Incomplete Burning
03. The Fire
04. Mare Of The Snake
05. Pleasure Blind
06. Passage To Vice
07. The Things That We All Hide
08. Braced For Collapse
09. Abeyance
10. Putting Flesh To Bone

Profound Lore is well on its way to becoming one of my favorite record companies. Many of my beloved bands have either remained with or released a record through this label at some point: Altar Of Plagues, Agalloch and SubRosa to name a few. Now add Vaura, as they have teamed up with this prominent record company for their sophomore release The Missing. After earning some mainstream recognition from their debut album, Selenlion, Vaura is now ready to share their signature brand of progressive/psychedelic/black metal with the rest of the music community. The interesting thing about this signing is Vaura fits in with the rest of the bands on the Profound Lore label like a metal head at a Garth Brooks show. Some music columnists go as far as to say their music isn't metal at all - more like a combination of heavy orientated goth with dark wave experimentation - but lets explore why this album, metal or not, succeeds on its own terms.

It's no wonder Vaura's music is a challenge to describe and genre tag. With a wide range of former and current bands on their resume, this "super group" from Brooklyn, influxes a variety of musical properties and characteristics. The line up is very prestigious: Toby Driver from Kayo Dot/Maudlin Of The Well, Kevin Hufnagel from Gorguts/Dysrhythmia and Josh Strawn and Charlie Schmid from Religious To Damn. Together they have shared a common vision and created songs that are clearly influenced by musicians they grew up with all the while having intricate musical knowledge of the deep, stringent roots they tie to.

The album starts off harmlessly enough with recognizable blast beat drumming and tremolo picked guitars associated with black metal but veers off the path once you get settled. About halfway through the album you realize you have been seduced by the low-fi, echo-y/reverbed vocals of Strawn which are remarkably reminiscent of David Gahan of Depeche Mode. The "blast from the past" feeling continues when Vaura pays homage to atmospheric post-punk with song schemes and melodies eerily mnemonic of The Cure and early U2. If you listen attentively enough you can even hear the mid-80's "electronic era" new-wave chords and rhythms of the hall of fame prog band Rush.

The end of the album continues its non-conforming ways via noise, industrial and electronic elements - illuminating a Trent Reznor vibe - and are diligently coordinated to take their music a bit further. The overall sound and feel of the album is crystal clear, leaving a big-budget taste in your mouth and blockbuster on your mind. The songs are accessible in every way even if you didn't grow up with the '80s alternative and gothic movement. Further, the ethereal dispositions and retro manifestations from the songs are very addicting.

"Selenelion was very conceptual and abstract, but The Missing is very immediate and confessional" says Strawn. This is evident in The Missing's best quality: its non-adherence to strict musical genre aesthetics. Boundary-pushing in every sense, Vaura doesn't care whether they are "hipsters" or non-compliant. What they have shown with this release is they are willing to exhibit whatever kind of music they are into at the moment and are relentless going about it. At this juncture of the band, the 1980's new wave decade clearly had a huge impact on them and they wanted to include lustrous mid-tempo traits in their seamlessly balanced tug-of-war between light and dark. The Missing is a huge breath of fresh air and a proverbial shot in the arm for those who are following the ever changing, cascading evolution of metal.

Performance:	9
Songwriting:	9
Originality:	10
Production:	10