"First of all, thank you for granting us an interview.I apologize in advance for my English level which is not a very good one. We are well...We met numerous defficulties which slowed down considerably the evolution of the band. But we keep having the same pasion for the dark music."
Can you introduce yourself and the band? What is the role of each member in Aura Noire?
"I am Aquilon, the drummer, founder of the band Aura Noire with 'Alastor' (guitar) and 'Le Malin' (keyboard) . Today we are five and
Can you tell us about the band, its history?
"Aura Noire was created in 1999 in order to play a black symphonic metal with dark and unhealthy riffs allie with sad riffs (what we call between ourselves the 'beautyful' riffs). We sarted without a bassist.The pieces were composed mainly by the two guitarists. But each one was taking part in the composition."
Demos being demos are always limited in very low quantities and not a lot of people get to hear them; Aura Noire had produced two demos so far ('Le Cercle des Ames' and "Sombre Chevauchee'), si an acutal Full Length album in the works?
"Effectively, the demo has been produced in limited quantities. It simply explains itself by the fact that we conceived everything ourselves (even the sleeves!). We had neither the budget nor the necessary time to achieve some more. That is why our first demo 'Les Cercles des Ames' can be downloaded free from web page site www.auranoire.com.There are only the instrumentations of the keyboards that are not online not to disfavor the people who already bought the demo. Our second demo'Sombre Chevauchee' is still available."
Your keyboardist Le Malin left before the recording session of 'Sombre Chevauchee', did you use keyboards on that demo? If so who performed the keys?
"Sombre Chevauchee' doesn't included a keyboard. After the departure of our keyboard, we knew that it would be very difficult to find a substiture in our region. That was our first hard time. We worked again on all the guitar bits to fill the absence of the keyboard and have been forced to abandon some titles."
It is posted on the official Aura Noire site that "AURA NOIRE has experienced a low period after the departure of our singer 'Tenebres'. Was Aura Noire thinking of calling it quits?
"Ah! When one plays black metal, the misfortunes fall on us naturally! (I'm joking!) Our singer 'Tenebres' left us at the moment Aura Noire affirmed itself even outside our borders. We are based in the East of France and have the chance to be adjacent with Belguim, Switzerland and especially Germany which has a strong activity in the area of metal. 'Tenebres' left to look for a job. He had a very important place in the band. Songwriter, he also had a big charisma on concerts. He took care a lot of the logistics of the band. We had only to dedicate ourselves to our instrument. His departure braked us considerably. We subsisted during one year without real motivation. Today 'Dorko' revives the flame!"
Vocalist Tenebres left in 2004 but a year later in 2005 you found his successor, Dorko. How did Dorko come into the band? Where did you hear about him?
"Dorko answered to an announcement. We auditioned him and he didn't convince us. We let him a musical support and asked him to work on it with out real hopes! He came back some months later and really surprised us a lot! His was of singing was transformed and quite suited Aura Noire."
Aura Noire plays Symphonic Black Metal, where do you get your inspiration for the band, being a founding member of Aura Noire?
"During his life, every man crosses some tests and feels very strong feelings. We inspire ourselves by some of them: sadness, hatred, loneliness, fear...but also love. You know, when it is so intense that you can feel it inside your stomach! Everybody felt that at least in his life. We try to communicate thses feelings with our music. Our texts are varied. They also speak of nature, death, the occult sciences, vampirism...But each time, this idea of emotion integrates to the texts."
Are copies still availabe of 'Somber Chevauchee', where can one get a hold of this demo?
"You can order it on our website. A piece is available in the 'download'.
Concerts and album recording were planned for 2005, was any of this accomplished?
"As you know, our new singer had to work on his voice a lot. He didn't have a lot of experience when he arrived and we considered a little too quickly doing concerts and a studio album. Still we performed two concerts in our region at the end of the year. The public welcomed Dorko extremely well. As soon as we have collected the necessary money, the album will follow..
Well that about wraps up this interview, I would like to thank Aquilon of Aura Noire for taking time in doing this.
The last words are yours
"We know that a lot of poeple believe in Aura Noire. We thank them for their support and let's ask them to be patient. Every group meets some difficulties. Let's say that Aura Noire has not been spared! But the beast is always living. The months spent in the shade have reinfored its ferocity...Be patient, the moment will come..."