Aruna Azura-A Story Of A World's Betrayal

Metal Scrap Records
2013

Somehow the full-length debut from this Russian band had slipped my mind. I had actually downloaded this album for review purposes sometime back and I only just now (or rather this morning) happened upon it by chance. It seems a shame that I had somehow overlooked this one as Aruna Azura's "A Story Of A World's Betrayal" isn't all that bad. Despite the fact that their name makes me think of  Hakuna Matata (yes, I know I'm weird to think of such a silly rhyme!) this youngish Russian band has some skills going for them. Technical death metal is the game these guys plays with the only difference being this group and a dozen similar such outfits is that there's some progressive metal intertwined throughout their debut album. Oh, there's also the clean and harsh vocals. Death growls mix up with clean singing and while it doesn't exactly deliver the desired effect for Aruna Azura it's the sign of a band that's trying to stand out from the crowd. There is room to grow for this bunch, but as far as debut-albums go this one is solid if unspectacular. Find out more here:
http://metalscraprecords.bandcamp.com/album/aruna-azura-a-story-of-a-world-s-betrayal