2024 Retro – AARA

"Es ist der Mensch der lauert
Die schrecklich Schöne zu erreichen
Entdeckergeist, Wagemut,
Leichtsinn, Sinnsucht, Leichtigkeit!
--
It is man who lies in wait
To attain the dread beauty…
Driven by a spirit of discovery, audacity,
Recklessness, a yearning for meaning, and a buoyant lightness!" ('Die das wilde Wetter fängt')

In the thirteenth instalment of our retrospective series, we invite you to explore the sixth album from Swiss Black Metal band AARA. "Eiger" captivates with impeccably tight performances, where icy melodies, reflective moods, and dynamic shifts juxtapose the sublime wonder of nature against a sense of existential disquiet and, ultimately, horror.

Visit our website to discover further segments of the 2024 retrospective series, featuring works from PESTILENGTH, MODERN RITES, OTHER WORLD, and more.

Following the acclaimed "Triade" trilogy – rooted in Charles Robert Maturin's Gothic classic, "Melmoth the Wanderer" – AARA have reinvented themselves again on their sixth album, entwining themselves deeply with the history of their alpine homeland. "Eiger" centres on the 3,967-metre mountain of the same name in the Bernese Alps, a peak that has claimed the lives of at least 64 climbers since 1935 while they attempted to conquer its sheer, ice-bound north face – aptly nicknamed the "Mordwand" or "murder wall". The album poignantly recounts the tragic July 1936 expedition, during which four young mountaineers fell victim to treacherous conditions and were lost to an avalanche.

"Es scheint die Brücke
Zur Welt des Lebens ist geschlagen
Doch Steinschlag und Lawinen
Reden eine unbarmherzige Sprache.
--
It seems the bridge
To the realm of life has been forged,
Yet rockfall and avalanches
Speak an unmerciful language!" ('Grausig ist der Blick')

Vocalist/lyricist Fluss discussed album thematics with Norway's Scream magazine:

"It was simply a fascination with this historic event. We came across the book "The White Spider" by Heinrich Harrer, who wrote down the story in a factual yet sensitive way, combined with his own experiences during the successful first ascent. We were just as moved by the tragedy of the story as we were by the fundamental question: what drives people to undertake such risky endeavours in the first place?

Concerning the detailed story on the album: There is an arc of suspense and a narrative thread following the chronology of events, and the music already reflected this. At the same time, however, it was never the aim to tell the whole story in a comprehensible and detailed way. So there are songs such as 'Die das wilde Wetter fängt', 'Felsensang' or 'Der Wahnsinn dort im Felsengrund' that can stand on their own and deal more with the question of the urge to climb the summit, with the evocation of the force of nature on the mountain or an attempt to trace the emotions that arise in such extreme situations.

Musically, Fluss and multi-instrumentalist Berg adhere to their singular approach to Black Metal – emphasizing unforgettable guitar melodies, piercing vocals, and arrangements that perfectly capture the narrative's atmosphere. An organic, expansive production by Markus Stock (EMPYRIUM, ALCEST) imbues Berg's signature elegiac leads and resonant acoustic guitars with even greater emotional depth, complementing the raw, on-the-edge delivery of Fluss.

Berg shares his own insights on the creation of the eight tracks that comprise "Eiger":

"The Bernese Alps are a place we visit from time to time, so eventually a certain mood develops about a place that you can slip into. The advantage of working with concept albums is that essentially all you have to do is wrap the content in music. You ask yourself, 'What might this or that sound like?' And then off you go. The songwriting itself is actually always the same process, I sit down and record. I never actually make music without intending to record something. It's actually enough to have 2-3 good ideas that you can bring together, but there are some less good ones that get deleted straight away so as not to get distracted. It's very rare that I come back to a song and change something, usually there's a first version and that's it."

The album has garnered high praise for its distinctive sound:

"Exquisitely melodic guitars that flit through a blastbeat storm like wind over a mountain crag – piercing and awe-inspiring." (Metal Hammer Germany)

"…a weirdly accessible but endlessly evocative epic, it seems to mirror the final descent into icy peril that took the lives of those brave but ill-fated mountaineers 88 years ago. Expect chills." (Blabbermouth)

"It has the makings of a timeless black metal record, and it stands tall amongst the band's already quite impressive catalogue." (Everything Is Noise)

Listen to "Eiger" below, via our YouTube channel and on all streaming platforms: