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Aurora Borealis
Mansions of Eternity
(Independent - 1996)
Labeled as black metal, this album surprised me with its technical style of death metal. And indeed, other than a couple of darker moments and the harsher, black style phlegm vocals, this is basically a blend of mid-period Death and early At The Gates to my ears. Packed with superb brutal riffs, technical dynamics and talented composition, this tight album is as solid as it gets. Another surprise turned up when I found out it's a one man band - turning this into a challenge of precision and talent that he passes with flying colors. The vocals are slightly weak but still good and the guitars, drums and hint of keyboards are all handled very well. As for the production, it doesn't have the roaring fullness of a rich label, but it's clear and well mixed. The only minus of the album is the lack of originality but he does it extremely well and this 26 minute album comes with solid recommendations.
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