Experimental death metal outfit Azure Emote has never shied away from pushing boundaries. With their new album Cryptic Aura, the band dives headfirst into a whirlwind of genre-defying chaos, existential unrest, and apocalyptic sonic storytelling. We sat down with Mike Hrubovcak (Monstrosity, Vile, Hypocrisy live) the band’s founder and creative nucleus to explore how instinct, angst, and raw artistic impulse converge to form one of the most unorthodox and emotionally charged metal albums of the year.
“Cryptic Aura” pushes the limits of genre in death metal. How do you approach balancing such experimental ambition with maintaining the genre’s brutal core?
Thank you. I really don’t think about it when I’m creating, though. I just create on instinct or impulse. I’m deeply rooted in the original underground black/death/doom from the early ’90s, so I think subconsciously that will always be the original core of Azure Emote—but then combined with whatever other flares of inspiration have hit me over the years. Whether from other genres or other experimental kinds of metal bands, I think I’ve soaked up a lot of different things over time, and it just kind of comes together once I start to create a song or two. I don’t think about what it should be—just what sounds cool to me, I guess.
I don’t know music theory. I don’t know notes. I create everything by ear and play around with it all basically on the computer. I started as just a vocalist and visual artist who decided to play around with music, just trying to bring out what’s in my head—with the help of some really awesome musicians I was friends with, and who are cool enough to work with me and just see what happens.
Each track on Cryptic Aura stands out as its own entity. Was this fragmentation intentional, and how do you ensure cohesion across such diverse songs?
I think that’s the hard part. Yes i create each song to have it’s own feeling, so when it comes to formatting the album or flow I think that’s where the mix of the album is really important. With brutal albums that all have the same feel across the board it’s a lot easier to mix and meld the songs together. With Azure, i wanted one song to be more doom-laden, one to be more aggressive, one to be more psychedelic etc, so it’s kind of tough for people that are only looking for the instant gratification of one similar style throughout the whole album. It’s not background party music like your average death or thrash metal album. It’s more of a sit down and listen to it alone when you have the time to think about it in order to really understand it.
AZURE EMOTE has seen significant evolution since its debut in 2007. What have been the most defining turning points in the band’s creative journey so far?
The first album is very experimental, i think the big jump came with the second album with the inclusion of Pete Johansen on Violins, and Mike Heller on drums. Things really got more grandiose with that album. The last album was a bit short and probably could of been made longer, so i think this new album is a bit more complete in feeling like it’s a real full album. It’s also a bit darker with a more cohesive feel, so i think it’s a combination of all my past experience of being in so many different bands that maybe helped this new album form into a what it is today, which is a more polished offering than previous records.
With members and guest artists from bands like DEATH, FEAR FACTORY, and ELUVEITIE, how do you manage the creative input from such a varied lineup without diluting your vision?
Luckily everyone is pretty open to creativity and aren’t too focused on controlling the output. They play what they think sounds good along to my mockup demos and are generally happy with what i end up doing with it at the end. I’m usually happy with the first things they come up with too and rarely have too many changes. If it was a “real” band i would understand trying to spread the song writing around, and everyone having a say, but this is generally just me making the final calls on everything, so in a way it’s a solo project really, with the help of some amazing friends and musicians i’ve met along the way.
The title Cryptic Aura suggests mystery and intangible forces. What does that concept represent to you musically and philosophically?
The cover art is a photograph of a homemade corpse skeleton that i burned in effigy, and melted into nothingness over a bonfire in my backyard under the first full moon of 2020. This was symbolic of the massive trauma and seismic change that occurred over the last 5 years: Burning the effigy of the past, while embracing the cryptic next chapter. In the photo the skeleton has a smokey red glow that resembles an aura. The name Azure Emote originally came from astral projection and aura strengthening meditations i was doing as a kid, so instead of an “azure” colored aura, i replaced it with the word “cryptic”, since this album now see’s the once blue calm aura morphing into a darker more cryptic manifestation, possibly symbolizing the death or final album perhaps?? (Only time shall tell…)
Ozzy Osbourne recently played his final show with Black Sabbath—what does their legacy mean to a band like AZURE EMOTE that thrives on pushing metal’s boundaries?
Everything comes to an end. Dying only teaches us how to live. They lived it to the fullest and threw their passion out to the world. It’s inspiration to us all to do the same, regardless of fears or hesitations we have. Nothing lasts forever so enjoy every second and give 110% to everything you care about. React on instinct and intuition and be yourself with no compromise. To be Metal is to be Free. Freedom, rebellion and passion is their legacy for us all.
With such a rich and layered sound, especially incorporating electronic and orchestral elements, what does your live or studio gear setup look like to capture this complexity?
Unfortunately Azure Emote has never played live yet. With all the members spread out across the globe, it’s hard to organize. I do have a local live lineup in mind however and am open to playing and would consider any offers. I’ve always been so busy with my other live bands in the past (Monstrosity, Vile, I.C.E., etc) that Azure Emote so far as always been a side project done just for fun as a creative outlet for myself. Whether it gets bigger or not I guess depends on the interest from the fans. I never really know if people like it or not, i’m always so distracted playing with other bands, but if the interest is there, i’d certainly consider it.
If AZURE EMOTE had to fight off an inter dimensional worm invasion using only instruments from Cryptic Aura, who’s leading the charge and which track is your battle anthem?
Haha BEST QUESTION 🙂 I would say Ryan Moll the guitar player. This would be perfect for him, to shred them away. I’d choose the first track since it also has James Murphy and Andy LaRocque, so they could all battle the worms with their solos. This would make a truly epic music video! Would love to make that happen haha.
AZURE EMOTE’s Cryptic Aura is not a casual listen—it’s a cerebral, chaotic, and cathartic plunge into the fringes of extreme metal. Fans of Death’s Human, Arcturus, or The Axis of Perdition will find plenty to dissect and devour. The album’s diversity is both its strength and its challenge: no two tracks sound the same, yet a grim emotional thread ties everything together.
From violin flourishes to psychotic growls, from atmospheric synths to soul-puncturing blast beats, this is a record that rewards patience and introspection. It’s not party metal. It’s music for the void. Cryptic Aura comes out on July 25th via Testimony Records.
Categories: Azure Emote, Interviews, Music
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