ABOVE AURORA is a blackened doom metal band with roots in both Poland and Iceland. “Myriad Woes,” is their third full-length album; they have also released an EP and a live album. “Myriad Woes,” is an album that never fully grabbed me, even after spending quite a bit of time with it. It isn’t a particularly bad album but it also isn’t very exciting usually. Flow and track placement are the biggest issues going against it. The opening song, “Inner Whispers,” is nearly 11 and a half minutes long, with the other four remaining songs being considerably shorter. If all the songs were of an epic length, it wouldn’t matter as much but having the longest song as the introduction track but it feels better served being at the end.

Unfortunately, it’s also the worst song on the album which is obviously a problem considering the length and placement. Throughout its long run there isn’t any moment that really stands out and makes me want to go back and listen again. It is just a trudge to get through, making it all the more difficult to enjoy the rest of the album. And considering the album itself is just 33 minutes in length, this one track takes up nearly half its runtime. “Spark,” fairs much better. It is definitely a more immediate song and features vocals, compared to the sound clips from the opening track which I was not a fan of. The guitars have a solid tone that rides the line between sweltering doom and blackened grit. As the song progresses, the music opens up and melody begins to flow in. The suddenly halfway mark sees the band upping the tempo a bit, a nice respite before coming back around to the more blackened doom approach from the beginning. The clean instruments near the end are a nice touch too, an unexpected dynamic that is appreciated.

This is a decent song but it’s also pretty much where the album ends for me. The remaining three tracks are solid but that is all they are. Much like the first song, nothing really stands out to me. All the elements that would make the album more interesting to me were presented in the second song and the album doesn't grab me enough to want to continue for anything beyond review purposes. All in all, ABOVE AURORA’s “Myriad Woes,” isn’t a band album but it also doesn’t have what it takes to keep my interests. I have already listened to well over a 100 different new albums this year and this one just can’t swim above in such a crowded sea.