Aura [Import, Limited Edition]

Fair Warning | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Format: Import, Limited Edition
• Label: Metal Heaven
• ASIN: B002I0IDHM
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,636 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Fair Warning make good on the promise of their reunion album, 'Brother's Keeper,' with 'Aura,' another magnificent opus of classy, melodic, guitar-driven hard rock. This first-pressing comes in a digipak, adding bonus tracks "It Takes More" and "Falling Reprise," plus a "making of..." video clip.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Another impressive Fair Warning album, October 2, 2009

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Aura (Audio CD)

It's good to see that the Fair Warning reunion didn't turn out to be temporary. The celebrated German melodic rock band is back with Aura, their sixth studio album and the first on the Metal Heaven label (weird not seeing that Frontiers logo). No one does melodic rock quite like Fair Warning, who (alongside Bonfire) has come to best embody the German melodic rock sound.

Aura continues where 2006's Brother's Keeper left off. It's a mature melodic rock album by a band who's been around long enough to know how to do this kind of music well. Like previous Fair Warning albums, Aura is all love songs. They range from up-tempo rockers to ballads, but the essential subject matter is the same. And as with previous albums, it's Tommy Heart's distinct vocals and Helke Engelke's unique guitar tone that set Aura apart from the pack. I'm not knocking Ule Ritgen or CC Behrens' contributions, but you can always tell a Fair Warning song by the first guitar chord or vocal. Standout tracks are "Falling", "Someday" and "Fighting for Your Love".

It's not the instant classic that Go! or Four were, but Aura is still a very impressive melodic rock album, and more than worthy of the Fair Warning legacy. Fair Warning is one of the absolute finest bands in the melodic rock genre, and it's great to have them back together and recording great albums. Rating: 4/5

Track Listing:

1. Fighting for Your Love
2. Here Comes the Heartache
3. Hey Girl
4. Don't Count On Me
5. Falling
6. Holding On
7. Walking on Smiles
8. Someday
9. It Takes More
10. As Snow White Found Out
11. Just Another Perfect Day
12. Falling Reprise

4.0 out of 5 stars SONS OF "ZENO" RETURN !!, September 30, 2009

By 

Nikiforos V. Skoumas (Athens Greece, Cambridge UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Aura (Audio CD)

"Fair Warning" was probably the last iconic melodic hard rock act band to emerge from Germany in the early 90s. "Aura" is their brand new album the second release to follow their reformation in 2005, a follow up to "Brother's keeper".
Amongst those familiar with the band it is common knowledge that "Fair Warning" can not put out a bad album; so naturally fans should expect lengthy melodies, stomping bass, inspired guitar solos and lead vocalist Tommy Heart in top form. And Aura id no exception to the standards: Ule Ritgen (B) and Helge Engelke (G) defend their reputation as charismatic composers while Tommy Hart lays as convincing a performance as ever.
Through "Aura", "Fair Warning" offers two powerful melodic masterpieces in "Fighting for your Love" and "Here comes the Heartache" and "Just another perfect day". From there onwards the album's pace falls dramatically and clean guitars replace, for the biggest part their distorted counterparts. There is no disputing that the group are masters in songwriting so they can clearly put out great tunes of any style, yet I think most would agree that power tracks like "Out on the Run" and "Hold on" were the ones that took the melodic rock world by storm in the 90s and made "Fair Warning" a protagonist of the genre.
So I can not help but feel that "Aura" should be made under the same formula that forged their reputation. I don't know if this light approach the band follows can be considered as musical maturity; still, from a 12 track album, I suppose it would be reasonable to expect at least 6 power tracks instead of three.

I very much hope that the next Fair Warning release will bring the band closer to their trademark sound and that should be a much heavier album.

"Power Play" UK magazine (issue 112) marks this album with 9/10 commenting: "Fair Warning just keeps getting better".