The emergence of a new metal band from Birmingham will often raise the same old tired comparisons. Metalcore quintet Aurora won't be standing for any of those though. They're bringing something different to the Midlands faithful.

 

Faith/Breaker is the debut album from the lads from Brum. At 7 tracks long (unless you do the honourable thing and buy the physical CD, then you get a bonus track) and racking up a running time of under 30 minutes, it is somewhere between an album and an EP. Regardless of what we call it (maybe a mini-album?!), their take on the metalcore genre follows many of the generic traits of said genre, but they do their bit to shake it up with some vocals more suited to the deathcore style and some breakdowns fitting with the hardcore scene.

 

The deep growls and djent style guitars are evident throughout the opener Perseverence and the riffs keep flowing through the second track, Faithbreaker. The clean vocals on this track provide a welcome break from the harshness of the growls, though not for long. The whole EP falls firmly on the heavier side of metalcore, so this may not be for fans of the likes of Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!.

 

Scriptures feels like it is blurring the lines between Thy Art Is Murder and Brutality Will Prevail, whilst not really feeling like it fits in either of those categories either. Signing to In At The Deep End seems to be the perfect choice for these guys and they'll be in good company.

 

Purgatory opens sounding more like something from the latest attempt from Bring Me The Horizon, but quickly develops into something with more substance. The symphonic tones in the background are an interesting idea and this minute and a half mini-track is a nice little break. Cold Hearts gets it going immediately afterwards though, sounding not too dissimilar to how Scriptures ends.

 

The Obsessor and RainDance bring this piece to an end following the aforementioned formula of a mix of growls, riffs, clean vocals and riffs. For just the 7 tracks, this mini-album packs one hell of a punch and promises to be pulsating live. Bonus track, Tennessee Whiskey, allows the band to show a more creative element, creating a track that falls somewhere between Stone Sour and Slipknot. It probably wouldn't be enough to convince you to buy the physical album, but it's a nice change from the rest of the album and might serve well as an intro track.

 

To summarise, Aurora deserve to be taken notice of and will certainly keep your attention for 30 minutes. You'll finish it not entirely sure what has hit you.