Empire Auriga

Atmosphere is the dominant sonic theme on Empire Auriga’s debut, permeating every long, drawn-out moment. Auriga Dying evokes more than it communicates — hazards and deterioration, claustrophobia and desolation, machines of (de)construction and war. A black metal guitar drone fades in and out across seven dreary soundscapes, sharing the front of the mix with a range of noises such as clanking, scraping, static, wind and a surging electronic thrum. When the vocals aren’t a distant distorted snarl they drift somewhere between spoken word, chanting and a radio news feed, occasionally following the martial beat of snares or horns. Softer tones are rare but not completely absent, infecting the noise and ambience with vulnerability it would otherwise completely lack. In between each dirge lies the punctuation of silence, giving Auriga Dying the shape of a multi-part story, nudging the listener onward through a powerful aural trance.