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Another first for America, courtesy of the Maryland Deathfest! The Norwegian trio of Aura Noir has been around since the early 90s, but live performances are historically rare and never on North American shores. The original lineup boasted a virtual supergroup of players, including bassist and vocalist Apollyon (also of Cadaver, Immortal, and Dødheimsgard), drummer Aggressor (of Dødheimsgard, Ved Buens Ende, and Ulver), and Blasphemer, who most famously replaced the late Euronymous in the reformed Mayhem lineup. Expectations on Sunday evening seemed relatively high, though it was impossible to qualify them until the band hit the stage and proceeded to burn through a set of black thrash hymns that won over the whole of the crowd in short order.
“We are Aura Noir and we play sloppy [expletive] metal,” bellowed Apollyon, though nothing could have been further from the truth. These guys are playing well below their collective abilities and they do it with a typically Norwegian acumen that makes the material ugly but still immensely listenable. This trio was probably one of the biggest surprise hits of the weekend, and if you missed it you screwed up badly as Satan only knows when they'll be back.
View the entire top 10 best and worst things about Maryland Deathfest 2009 for more.
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