Bölzer: Aura (2013)

After being thoroughly impressed by Bölzer's only full-length to date, I figured I should at least take a look at some of their other material.  The aforementioned release is somewhat controversial among long-term fans of the band apparently as Bölzer went in more of a Mastodon-esque sound, which was not present in their earlier material.  This EP was released three years before and was Bölzer's second release overall, after a demo in 2012.

This is a short, three-song EP, though the run-time is not particularly short.  The sound on this release is not easy to categorize.  There are a lot of elements present, but it typically ranges somewhere between death, black and sludge metal.  The riffs are murky and incredibly heavy, but there is melody underlying everything.  Stranger still is how remarkably catchy and infectious the songs are.  There is a lot going on here and it takes a few listens to fully catch everything, but this is a rewarding listen.

Now, the question is whether this EP is better than Hero or not.  Honestly, I think it depends on what you are looking for.  Hero is significantly more melodic with catchier songs, and some almost sing-along choruses.  This release is significantly heavier and more chaotic.  So it comes down to personal choice.  Personally, I somewhat prefer Hero, but this one is damn close.