After much suspense Padua band Zenaida Aurita has unleashed their debut EP. The name Zenaida Aurita—taken from the species of exotic bird thus called for its golden plumage—represents both fragility and strength, which the band believes epitomizes them as musicians: fragile individuals coming together to produce a strong sound. On the new, self-titled EP the band explores the inner depths of the human soul and the supernatural in a tone that is both fascinating and frightening at the same time. This is totally evident on the opening track “Cunning Sage” which starts off with a distorted minor key arpeggio, with dramatic crashes of the cymbals, all building up to the melodramatic, super compressed female vocalist, who pours her heart out in long, melodic phrases. The band melds together gothic and melodic metal, together with a punk vibe, at times recalling bands like AFI and The Offspring like in the song “Anymore”, and at other times Evanescence, like in the song “Survive”, which brings the tempo down several notches and the melodrama up a few. The EP was recorded at the Altramusica School of Music in Montecchio Maggiore. All songs are sung in English, except “No quiero”, which is in the singer’s native tongue of Spanish (check out that track here). After going through some changes since the original formation in early 2012, the final lineup of the band is Nenad Tosic on drums, Daniel on guitar, and Martina Leonardo on bass and vocals. Recently Zenaida Aurita wielded their rock battle-axes on stage at The Factory in Padua for Emergenza Festival Italia. Stay tuned to hear if they’ve made it to the semi-finals.

MC