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║ The_Ritual_Aura-Velothi-WEB-2019-UTP ║
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╠═════════════════════════════[RELEASE.iNFO]══════════════════════════════╣
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║ ARTiST......: The Ritual Aura ║
║ ALBUM.......: Velothi ║
║ TYPE........: Album ║
║ LABEL.......: Independent ║
║ GENRE.......: Death Metal ║
║ ║
║ COUNTRY.....: Australia SOURCE.....: WEB ║
║ RiP.DATE....: 09-01-2019 ENCODER....: LAME3.99 ║
║ RETAiL.DATE.: 09-01-2019 QUALiTY....: 320kbps/44.1kHz ║
║ CATALOG.....: n/a MODE.......: Full Stereo ║
║ ║
║ URL.........: http://theritualaura.bandcamp.com/album/velothi ║
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╠═════════════════════════════[RELEASE.NOTES]═════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ Hey there, tech fiends. It's that time of the week again. Before we ║
║ dive into today's focus, here's the usual weekly reminder that if ║
║ you're looking for even more sick bands to hear, all prior editions ║
║ of this series can be perused here. ║
║ ║
║ If you've been following this space the last couple years, or, seen ║
║ any of my posts at No Clean Singing in the past, you'll know how ║
║ much I love The Ritual Aura. Their first album, Laniakea, was an ║
║ over-the-top tech-death overload that showcased a remarkably strong ║
║ progressive death metal focus in between and outside of their main ║
║ aggressive focus. The group's 2016 second full-length, Taether, went ║
║ all-in on the progressive death metal and progressive metal side of ║
║ things, offering an intricately layered over an hour-long in length ║
║ journey that saw the group really expand their sound outwards in a ║
║ multitude of ways. ║
║ ║
║ Now, the group's third album, Velothi, is finally about to see ║
║ release, coming out this Friday, August 30th. I'm incredibly excited ║
║ to share an exclusive early stream of the album with you all today. ║
║ As usual, you can scroll down and start playing the album, or, read ║
║ on for more information and discussion of what Velothi has to offer ║
║ from the bands own words and my take on it as well. ║
║ ║
║ After Taether showed The Ritual Aura inhabiting a very different ║
║ approach to writing focused more on their progressive metal and ║
║ progressive death metal inclinations over tech-death as a whole, I ║
║ was curious as to what the group would create on Velothi. An answer ║
║ came early with early singles like 'Keening III: Dreamer's End', ║
║ which we premiered here in this space back in 2017. That song ║
║ brought back a lot of the hyper shredding and skull-splintering ║
║ ferocity of the first album and re-combined it with Taether's ║
║ progressive tendencies and love for layering their music with a ║
║ combination of orchestration, piano, violin, and Erhu among others. ║
║ ║
║ If you're new to the band, from Taether into Velothi, the best way I ║
║ could succinctly describe their sound is somewhere between The ║
║ Faceless, Ne Obliviscaris, Ron Jarzombek, and Opeth melding and ║
║ blended together in a powerful manner. ║
║ ║
║ Getting back to 'Dreamer's End' and how it's early release as a ║
║ single feels like a nice 'proof of concept' kind of single as a ║
║ jumping-off point for the album as a whole, the song features some ║
║ excellent singing from Drew Griffith whose haunting singing was ║
║ another element that took on a more expansive role with Taether and ║
║ that holds true here as well. For Velothi, they also add Flute and ║
║ Harp to the fold as well to the vast arsenal of non-metal ║
║ instrumentation, some core line-up shifts that add fresh blood to ║
║ the group's assault, and a massive number of great guest spots ║
║ enhancing the songs throughout the album. ║
║ ║
║ The Ritual Aura has always had a penchant for multi-song suites, ║
║ their first album had a two-part song, Taether had a two-part song ║
║ and a four-song suite. They've become quite adept at this style of ║
║ multi-song writing that's dynamic and flows together brilliantly. ║
║ Yet, I would argue they've perfected doing so best here on Velothi, ║
║ especially since this is a streamlined about 30 minutes in length ║
║ effort. One that consists of a killer piano intro from my good ║
║ friend Jimmy Pitts, followed by 2 four-song cycles, and ends with a ║
║ short outro, a short cover of 'Silt Sunrise' music from Morrowind ║
║ which is the inspiration for this release. ║
║ ║
║ I had a lot more to say about the album, but, bandleader Levi Dale ║
║ offered up a lengthy statement about Velothi that covers much of ║
║ what I was going to say so it seemed best to place his full ║
║ statement here versus blathering on more on my end. Levi explains a ║
║ lot about every aspect of Velothi in his statement, explaining that, ║
║ following the release of Taether at the end of 2016 work began on ║
║ what would become Velothi; originally planned and announced as a ║
║ two-track EP focusing on lore from The Elder Scrolls universe, ║
║ particularly that of the Morrowind era. It wasn't something we ║
║ intended to spend three years on, but that EP became the massive ║
║ undertaking that was our third full-length; Velothi. Here we are in ║
║ 2019 and it's finally done! ║
║ ║
║ Each TRA release so far has had underlying themes and folklore ║
║ attached; with Laniakea's spin on sci-fi tropes and the Japanese ║
║ horror-folklore explored on Taether. This is something we tend to ║
║ decide fairly early on as the music is a reflection of (and largely ║
║ inspired by) the initial concept, and it's never been as prevalent ║
║ as it is on Velothi - Our take on high-fantasy, and a genre I'm sure ║
║ we'll return to soon because it was a blast to write music for. ║
║ ║
║ Musically, Velothi bridges the gap between Laniakea's technicality ║
║ and Taether's proggier approaches, or at least that was the ║
║ intention. There's something for people on both sides with a ton of ║
║ new additions as well; most notably the orchestral elements which ║
║ are prominent in almost every track. While it's something we've ║
║ dabbled with before, this time it's a core aspect of the album. ║
║ Those savvy to TES lore will also find another layer of depth in the ║
║ lyrics; beyond the surface-level death metal ramblings of yore, we ║
║ packed a universe into 30 minutes. ║
║ ║
║ While it's not the hour+ length of Taether, Velothi is just as dense ║
║ on the lyrical front if not more so, with the source material having ║
║ roots in things like metaphysics, Eastern religion and mythology. ║
║ Velothi follows the story of Lorkhan, progenitor of all living ║
║ things in the TES mythos. ║
║ ║
║ Split into two sagas consisting of four parts each; 'Sunder' and ║
║ 'Keening' - Sunder covers the creation myth and fate of Lorkhan, ║
║ while Keening follows the story of his heart; torn from his chest as ║
║ penance for his hand in creation of the world and cast into it. The ║
║ heart has arcane properties which, if harnessed, can ascend one into ║
║ godhood - naturally it's a major point of contention and betrayal. ║
║ ║
║ With all that said, we're very pleased with the end result and to ║
║ finally share it with you all is truly awesome. Thanks for sticking ║
║ with us over the years, the wait is over, and you'll hear more from ║
║ us sooner rather than later. ║
║ ║
║ Velothi does an incredible job at pushing the band forwards once ║
║ more by building upon all that Taether accomplished while ║
║ re-introducing some of their debut album's more linear tech-death ║
║ inclinations back into their sound at the same time. The result ║
║ makes for the groups strongest release yet, and, clocking in at just ║
║ under 30 minutes, there's hardly a moment of filler to be found in ║
║ spite of how epic and jaw-dropping the back-to-back four-song cycles ║
║ that make up the bulk of the album are. I'd strongly urge you to ║
║ check out The Ritual Aura - Velothi below and give it a few spins at ║
║ a minimum. If you're into it, you can order Velothi through ║
║ Bandcamp. ║
║ ║
╠═══════════════════════════════[TRACK.LiST]══════════════════════════════╣
║ ║
║ 01 Destati / The Womb, Astral 1:25 ║
║ 02 Sunder I: Lorkhan, Heir Of The Void 1:33 ║
║ 03 Sunder II: Elysian Flesh-Divinity 3:52 ║
║ 04 Sunder III: A Reasonable Amount Of Selfishness 3:29 ║
║ 05 Sunder IV: The Weight Of Falsehood 2:57 ║
║ 06 Keening I: Psijic / CHIM 4:29 ║
║ 07 Keening II: In My Own Parting Words 1:09 ║
║ 08 Keening III: Dreamer's End 4:05 ║
║ 09 Keening IV: Red Year & The Fall 5:08 ║
║ 10 Silt Sunrise (Bonus Track) 1:37 ║
║ ║
║ TOTAL SiZE.: 10 Files/78.07MB/29:44 min ║
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╚═════════════════════════════════[⌐2019]═════════════════════════════════╝