AURAS

The Arc of AURAS

The pivots — what forced AURAS to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Good Fight Polish

   Signing with eOne and Good Fight Music moved the operation into higher gear, pairing them with producer Jordan Valeriote for the 2015 Crestfallen EP. Valeriote dialed in a razor-sharp, punchy drum sound and gave the dual-guitar attack of Josh Ligaya and Aaron Hallman the breathing room it desperately needed. That momentum rolled right into their 2016 debut LP Heliospectrum, proving the band could stretch their intricate groove-heavy attack over full-length conceptual architecture. The technicality stayed insane, but actual hooks started creeping through the barricade.

2. 02

   Synth Modernism and The Split

   After taking a breath, the band self-produced 2019's Binary Garden, handing mixing duties back to Valeriote. They shoved layers of atmospheric electronics and prominent synthesizers into the mix, forcing their mechanical groove to coexist with melody and unexpected clean vocal passages. It was a massive artistic leap forward, but the lineup couldn't hold. Founding frontman Eric Almeida exited in 2023, forcing the remaining trio into an adapt-or-die corner.

3. 03

   The Odeholm Reinvention

   Refusing to run auditions, Josh Ligaya took over lead vocals while keeping his guitar strapped on, keeping the core unit down to a lethal three-piece. For the 2025 EP SIRENSHADE, they enlisted humanity's heaviest studio brain, Buster Odeholm, alongside Ian Zeberek to reshape their low end. Odeholm mixed and mastered the project with a suffocating, modern industrial bite, tapping Kyle Anderson of Brand of Sacrifice for pure vocal violence. The record killed off any lingering nostalgia and replaced it with pure sonic malice.

Influences

• Meshuggah — The Swedish blueprint for polyrhythmic, low-tuned metal is stamped all over modern heavy music, and AURAS built their rhythm section around that exact mechanical precision. You hear it immediately in the gated chugs and off-meter kick patterns driving tracks across Panacea. Without Fredrik Thordendal's rhythmic DNA, these guys wouldn't have had a launchpad.
• Misery Signals — The intricate, emotionally charged riff style of early 2000s metalcore defined the Ontario-adjacent heavy circuit where AURAS grew up. The shifting guitar counterpoint between Josh Ligaya and Aaron Hallman on Heliospectrum borrows directly from the dense, melodic tapestries Ryan Morgan wrote a decade prior. It provides the melodic scaffolding underneath their technical assault.
• Between the Buried and Me — Before the djent explosion codified rhythmic metal, BTBAM proved that extreme progressive metalcore could handle weird time signatures and sweeping shifts in texture. You hear that structural ambition in the way AURAS stretch out tracks on Heliospectrum rather than sticking to three-minute mosh anthems. It was the permission slip they needed to get weird.
• The Contortionist — Their early 2010s transitions from crushing deathcore weight into ambient, progressive atmospheres helped pave the road AURAS walked down. When AURAS started threading ambient pads and spacey cleans into Binary Garden, they were tapping straight into that lane. It's the balance of sheer bludgeoning force and shimmering synth air.
• Protest the Hero — Hailing from the same broader southern Ontario scene, Protest the Hero blew the doors open for Canadian bands playing unhinged, technical fretboard gymnastics. That manic, note-dense technicality shows up in Ligaya's rapid-fire tapped leads across Crestfallen. They showed every kid in Ontario with an Ibanez that crazy chops could actually pack out venues.