AroarA profile picture

AroarA

About Me

AroarA are a 4-piece progressive celtic group from the North-East of Scotland. Described by popular US folk music magazine “Dirty Linen” as “Metallica-meets-Wolfstone” with “sizzling electric guitar and artillery-barrage drumming”, the band combines progressive metal influences from groups such as Mastodon, Opeth and Dream Theater with modern bagpipes and whistle melodies to create a truly unique sound. Since forming in 2002, AroarA have performed in numerous locations throughout the country, including Celtic Connections, the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen, Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange and several main stage slots at Scottish music festival Speyfest, as well as providing support for some of the biggest acts in the folk music world, most notably Croft No. Five, Malinky and Wolfstone.
In 2007 the group completed their third self-produced album, titled “Forward Through Ruin”. The combination “ear-frying bagpipes” with “furious, oft-changing rhythms” led to it being hailed as “one of the most cool and original albums of the year” and “the pinnacle so far of any fusing of heavy & ancient music” by independent US music publication “Chaos Realm.” Comprised purely of original compositions, “Forward Through Ruin” flows expertly between intensely heavy, technical passages and subtle melodic sections, all the while retaining the distinctive and exciting quality which defines AroarA’s inimitable live sound.
March 2008 saw AroarA make their first overseas performance in the form of a 5 date tour of Slovakia, organised by Slovak company Fruitstand Music. Such was the success of this tour that the group plan to return to mainland Europe in October 2008, with preliminary arrangements currently in place for concerts in France, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Stay tuned...


My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 31/07/2006
Band Website: www.aroaramusic.com
Band Members:

Euan MacDonald - Drums, Percussion

Duncan Menzies - Fiddle, Bagpipes, Whistles, Mandolin, Bouzouki, Vocals

Edward Mills - Lead, Rhythm and Acoustic Guitars

Philip Scarffe - Bass Guitar, Vocals

Influences: Dream Theater, Opeth, Croft No. Five, Lunasa, Mastodon, Metallica, Michael McGoldrick, Wolfstone
Sounds Like: If you like what you hear on this page, you can download AroarA's music at

Record Label: Unsigned
Type of Label: Unsigned

My Blog

Mainland Europe Tour - October 2008

The band are about to embark on a tour of 5 European countries, in association with Fruitstand Music. The bill will be shared with excellent Slovak hardcore group Madcult (www.myspace.com/madcult) - ...
Posted by on Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:55:00 GMT

Home from Slovakia

The band have pretty much recovered from our short tour of Slovakia last week. We met some amazing people and had some crazy parties, as well as playing 5 very enjoyable concerts and selling out all ...
Posted by on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:55:00 GMT

Slovakia Tour!

We are excited to confirm that AroarA will be embarking on a short tour of Slovakia in March 2008 in conjunction with Slovakian company Fruitstand Music.  The tour will consist of 5 dat...
Posted by on Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:23:00 GMT

Happy New Year!

Best wishes for 2008 from all in AroarA, and thanks to everyone who turned out to see us at Hootananny for Hogmanay, we hope you all had a night to remember! Keep an eye on the Myspace page for n...
Posted by on Thu, 03 Jan 2008 10:31:00 GMT

2 New Reviews!

"Forward Through Ruin" received two more favourable reviews recently, the 1st of which appeared in issue 5 of "Rock 'n' Reel" magazine and read as follows - "AROARA grab the baton previously wielded b...
Posted by on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:14:00 GMT

News Update

Once again the band have just about recovered from another hectic Speyfest weekend. Thanks to everyone who turned out to support us at one or both of our performances, and hope you all had as good a ...
Posted by on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:32:00 GMT

Chaos Realm Interview

Following the recent review of "Forward Through Ruin" in US music publication "Chaos Realm", Duncan and Philip spoke to editor Ray Dorsey to answer his questions. To read the interview, paste the fol...
Posted by on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:28:00 GMT

Speyfest '07 - Provisional Times

Once again the band are looking forward to being part of popular folk festival Speyfest, which runs from 2-5 August in Fochabers, Moray.Provisional stage times for AroarA are as follows - Friday Night...
Posted by on Sun, 27 May 2007 22:44:00 GMT

Sub-City Review

"Forward Through Ruin has been reviewed on Glasgow University's Sub-City Radio website. To read the full review copy the link below into your browser -http://www.subcity.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=514...
Posted by on Thu, 24 May 2007 20:36:00 GMT

Album Reviews!

"Forward Through Ruin" has been reviewed in Ray Dorsey's Chaos Realm magazine from Baltimore, USA. You can read the full review on the Chaos Realm website by pasting the address below into your brows...
Posted by on Tue, 08 May 2007 23:59:00 GMT