BAND'S BIOGRAPHY
Aurium was founded in 2012 in Belgrade, Serbia, but its two founding members: Sinisha Mladenovick and Milica Jovanov. Initially envisioned as a symphonic rock band, Aurium soon started leaning more towards metal and a heavier sound with intricate song structures.
It was named after the medical term tinnitus aurium, describing sounds of psychological or pathological origin. Always interested in the matters of the mind, Sinisha chose this term as the titular inspiration for exploration of themes further developed in the band's lyrics.
In 2014, the band released its debut album Still Life, with the then-line-up: Milica Jovanov (vocals), Sinisha Mladenovick (keyboards), Slavoljub Pupic (guitar), Milos Cvetkovic (bass) and Ivan Bajunovic (drums). The album boasted 11 tracks, with an official single (A Touch of Art) and a lyric video (Endless Dream). The debut was released by Miner Recordings (Switzerland) to warm audience reception. The band promoted the album with a series of shows in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, gaining its first dedicated fans across the region.
The album was followed with a self-released digital EP The Silent Moon (2016) with 5 orchestra tracks from the band's planned second studio album The Second Sun.
The works on the second album kicked off in 2015. Followed by a period of personal turmoil, creative differences and unforeseen circumstances, the two coming years were quiet for the band, but the ideas and plans were still brewing.
In 2017, the band recorded 10 tracks for The Second Sun. Simultaneously, the band kept busy with a few more gigs across Serbia, getting ready for the release. However, in 2018, due to insurmountable creative differences, Sinisha and Milica parted ways, and Milica went on to create her own solo project Millisa Strange. Still the band's close friend, Milica was glad to suggest a possible replacement for the position of the lead vocalist - a big decision indeed, as this was happening after the entire album had already been recorded in full. Milica and Sinisha opted for Dragica Maletic, whom they'd known for her work in Demist (lead vocals) as well as her solo work. It did not hurt that they had all been friends for years, and when Dragica agreed, there was a lot of work to be done to make the transition at this tricky time in the band's life as smooth as possible.
Thus the final and current line-up was concluded: with Dragica, three more members were introduced to their fans: Julius Verner (guitars), Milos Jovanovic (bass) and Aleksandar Musicki (drums). The three of them had been in the band for two years before Dragica's addition, so the crew was more than ready to tackle the challenge.
The main question was - how to handle having a new vocalist when the previous one had already recorded all the songs? No one was willing to simply scrap all of Milica's tracks and have Dragica re-record all 11 songs; after all, Milica was one of the founders, and had shaped so much of the band's identity and soul. The decision was made: Dragica would re-record certain songs (Asylum, Curtain's Fall, Dead Landscapes, The Silent Wake and The Son of a Morning Star), Milica's vocals would remain on others (Garbage Eater, Timekeeper, Phasianidae, Nodus Tollens and Reminiscence), with a duet between the two (Leaden Skies).
The finalization of the album came along with an offer from Art Gates Records (Spain), and thus they released The Second Sun in June 2020.
Asylum was the first single off the album with an official video, and Leaden Skies, a lyric video, followed. The band already had many shows planned for 2020, but with the outbreak of the pandemic, those planes have been postponed. Still, the band is hard at rehearsals, with new ideas for the next album already developing.
The band is currently focused on preparing for the next concert season, promoting The Second Sun and planning their next steps.