A U R O R A

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To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Mixed, Mastered and laid to rest by Valgeir Sigurðsson and Ben Frost at Greenhouse Studios, Reykjavík Iceland in December 2013.

Top Tags Steven Soderbergh nicolas cage Bob Dylan jonathan demme David Bowie animal collective monthly mixtape criminally Martin Scorsese spike lee R.On the other hand, the same thing happens here that happens with a lot of albums that are very abstract: without a lot of context for the music, one can easily get lost or distracted and lose interest in what's going on. A U R O R A aims directly, through its monolithic construction, at blinding luminescent alchemy; not with benign heavenly beauty but through decimating magnetic force. There are only a few moments on this album that surprised me or gripped me, and you would want a post-industrial album to surprise you all the time, but this just fell super flat for me.

Ben Frost hasn’t lost the knack of creating beauty from opposing musical forces, and on ‘Aurora’ he’s right in your face with his most dynamic and unhinged album yet.

Performed by Ben Frost with Greg Fox, Shahzad Ismaily and Thor Harris and largely written in Eastern DR Congo, A U R O R A aims directly, through its monolithic construction, at blinding luminescent alchemy; not with benign heavenly beauty but through decimating magnetic force. The album is dense and aggressive, spewing fire and venom from every angle and creating an environment that’s not just dark and ominous, but corrosive to the touch. Diphenyl Oxalate”, a track named for the chemical used in glowsticks, hits like a black metal rave, and it’s one of a few places where Frost seems to be creating dance music, or at least music that makes your innards move. From the muted chimes and bells set against the percussive clatter and dissonance of the remarkable Venter to the sustained, cicada-like hiss on No Sorrowing and the high-frequency static on Sola Fide, Frost continues to create sounds that feel unquestionably his, as experimental as they may be.