(Review by Alekos Hawk Τouloumis)
After a two-year break and some non stop touring, mainly in Japanese ground - where they have their core fan base - but also in various European festivals, German melodic rockers FAIR WARNING return with their new release entitled Aura. This band is a unique case in regards to the sub-genre they serve, since it consists of rather talented/skillful musicians that never settled to mainstream forms but - instead - write music capable of making the listener's mind travel and flourish with colors. In other words, FAIR WARNING's sound is rather personal, unchained from any forming die and featuring some total freedom of creation.
The shaking sound of guitarist Helge Engelke, the charismatic voice or Tommy Heart and the Ule W. Ritgen/C.C. Behrens rhythm section are here to care for our voyage. As an opener the band chose to place Fighting For Your Love which is dynamic, full of melody, with a fitting refrain and a beautiful guitar solo. Here Comes The Heartache follows in the same path, boasting a wonderful chorus and some striking guitar themes. I would not imagine a better way to start off an album; only a band like FAIR WARING can possibly achieve this! Carrying on, some more calm tone will the listener get by welcoming a ballad called Hey Girl, a breathtaking cut gradually heating up to a more neoclassical pattern; Engelke's soloing helps to this direction and shows his no-doubt class once again.
And here comes the pre-said uniqueness, the non-conformist notion of this band, since Don't Count On Me does not flirt at all with the Hard Rock ideals in the way it does start, but FAIR WARNING's songmaking stylishness re-shapes the track to the band's path with a nice bridge and a powerful refrain turning the upsides down. Some 'traveling' emotion is being created again with the next two songs, the beautiful ballad Falling (reminded me of some 80s emotional movie soundtrack) and Holding On which has a more Bluesy vibe similar to the style of the one and only Dave Meniketti. Equally notable is Walking On Smiles, too, with an expressive guitar forming various sounds and preceding Someday end As Snow White Found Out; both of them shall probably evoke beautiful emotions with their vivid atmosphere. Last but not least, Station To Station wraps up the album, a song in funky mode, quite unexpected but rather smooth in order to sum it all up.
Aura is an album clad in rare beauty. The ones taking my words into thought but being core fans of the more typical Hard rock forms (WHITESNAKE, FIREHOUSE, WHITE LION, KINGDOM COME etc) will possibly be left dissatisfied since this album does not guarantee something you'd probably expect and does not feature music applying to the vast majority of melodic Rock fans. It is a conscientious album with some fragile sensation and lyricism, aiming at you closing the eyes and travel to your most distant dreams.
Won't even bother to mention FAIR WARNING's die-hard followers. You've already made your order, right?