I count my blessings each day that I stumble across a label like Fallen Empire. Here is a label that has consistently been proven to put out, if at the very least, interesting black metal. Additionally, the releases from Fallen Empire are usually either lesser known or completely new talent. Take for example Markov Soroka, who goes by the name M.S. in the project Aureole. Here is a very young newcomer who has taken the past couple of years to seclude himself in a castle of solitude. If the brilliant cover was not enough indication, the album Alunar is an institution dedicated to loneliness in the reaches of mystical space.

It is important to emphasis the ambient aspect of Alunar. Songs, for the most part, move at a funeral dirge and there is even special attention paid to the synth atmosphere. If one was looking for the raw explosive variety of black metal, you would be better suited elsewhere. “III: The Senility of the Hourglass” there is just a light cadence of drums with the woozy atmosphere of keys floating over top. “V: Alunar, Decrepit…” toes the line between music and atmospheric backdrops. This should not desuade one from listening to Aureole since all of the songs hold a complex quality. While Alunar is a low impact record, under its tranquil exterior lurks a bed of hostility. This aspect truly makes for an interesting record.

I feel many people miss the idea of black ambient when they just fill the space with atmosphere and synth. Alunar uses imagination to construct a world in which silence carries just as much terror as its noisy counterpart. A listener can imagine themselves taking residence or being trapped on the insular structure which adorns the cover. Alunar may sound different than other contemporary black metal records but its spirit is just as potent as the ghosts of old.