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I had not realised it had been so long since the last full-length from these masters of Black/Thrash - 6 years! Well, calling The Merciless a full-length is a bit of a stretch; At 27 minutes it flirts dangerously with the EP category. Now let's just cut to the chase: If you're expecting the next revolution in the Black/Thrash genre, you're in for a deception. Aura Noir just stuck to the basics of what they do best and didn't bother pushing the limits and thankfully didn't fall into some shitty experimental trap, unlike so many other bands from their neck of the woods (and elsewhere, for that matter. ;)) So what you get here is some surprisingly catchy old school blackened thrash that at times is not without reminding me of early Venom and Hellhammer, but with better skill (OK, that's not much of a challenge in the first place - hehe.) The vocals are especially Venom-ish at times, when they don't fall into a more Black-like style. No bullshit gimmicks here, just some basic, raw, aggressive headbanging thrash. Gotta love it! Don't let the short length deter you: There might only 27 minutes of music here, but it's all filler-free and extremely addictive. I now feel an urge to give their previous work a few spins. Highly recommended.