“Aura Noir . . ." I kept trying to figure out what these two words mean, “Black Aura?” It’s got to do with “Black” something I think, because for about a minute into the “Deep Tracts Of Hell,” it’s painfully obvious (and a bit warm and uncomfortable), they are a black metal band through and through. But, as with their last release, “Black Thrash Attack,” this new one assumes that same formula of mixing in traditional thrash, only without so much of the common orchestrated effects and devilish chants associated with those strictly of the “black” metal persuasion. “Deep Tracts of Hell” is "Aura Noir’s" third album, and they could just as well have called this one “Black Thrash Attack” too if they felt like it, but moving on, it marks a new chapter for the band now under contract with their new label Hammerheart Records for nearly a year. Broken tours and poor support now a thing of the past, this European death cult is back with a vengeance, and it can be heard here at every darkened twist and turn.

This promo copy is very attractive, let me point out. With a glossy finish and luminescent green color highlighting the black background, I almost felt like I was handling a photo, being careful not to smudge it with fingerprints. Before even the first note is played, the listener gets the impression they’re entering into some sort of creepy underground cavern - Hell??? - from which they’ll not return the same, if at all! The slaughtering guitar riffs on “Deep Tracts…” closely resemble those of early Celtic Frost, around their “Morbid Tales/Emperor’s Return” stage, where songs such as “The Spiral Scar” and “Broth of Oblivion” quickly brought to mind stuff like “Suicidal Winds,” “Visual Aggression,” etc. (Could you imagine if the supermarkets stocked such a product as Broth of Oblivion? I shudder to think what oblivion must taste like but I’m sure it isn’t pleasant.)

Neither pleasant is “Deep Tracts of Hell” as a whole, for those looking for their black metal played with the almost customary Goth appeal