Some bands take years and years of playing dodgy toilet venues and releasing tons of demos before getting anywhere in this somewhat harsh place known as the music industry. Others wait until they are pretty much perfect to begin with before throwing themselves into the public arena, kicking, screaming and shouting “look at me!” I guess Irish band Altar Of Plagues fit firmly in the second category as they seemed to appear from out of nowhere and were suddenly thrust into the limelight supporting the likes of Wolves In The Throne Room and Mayhem as well as being snapped up by Profound Lore for their debut album 3 years and a couple of EP’s into their existence.
And what a debut White Tomb is as well!
On seeing the bands heady performance supporting WITTR back in 2008 I described them as melding elements of doom, black metal, Indie and post hardcore within their sound and that is something I stand by on listening to this sprawling opus. Divided essentially into two twenty plus minute passages each containing two tracks this is a mature and wholly commanding album the likes of which most bands would not have a chance of matching before they hit album number three or four a decade into their career. Slow fluttering guitars shimmer away as we enter ‘Earth i) As a Womb’ but after a couple of minutes everything hones in and explodes in a deluge of sound. We have shot from a shoe-gazing hypnotic approach into a blackened and bestial whirlwind that is reminiscent a little of the aforementioned Wolves and with vocal approach a bit of modern day Nachtmystium. This is just a casual observation though as AoP are completely their own entity and it is easy to reference these along with everything from Isis to Mogwai within the tumultuous flow here. Contextually this plays with the senses, after such an involving bombast it drops into more acoustic realms with dreamy breathtaking vocal swoops and guitar strums, whilst remaining ever hungry and insistent along the way. ‘Earth ii) As A Furnace’ evolves things and instrumentally has a real post rock feel to it with guitars going into a chasm dropping freefall around the gruff despondent vocals. These descriptions only really touch the surface though and to fully appreciate the depth of this, listening loud is the only real way to experience it.
After spending a long period of time in a near ambient state of catalepsy the senses are assaulted when second segment ‘Through The Collapse: i) Watchers Restrained’ literally batters you back into life. This is a windswept and angry void but an expansive one, again with plenty going on within its depths. The best thing you can do really is grip hard and dig in for the ride. One thing that must be mentioned is that the vocals that come in amidst jagged guitars and slow doomed drum rolls are really nasty (and that is meant in a good way) and get at you like fingernails scraped down a blackboard. Altar Of Plagues have opened this tomb and buried the listener deep within it. Listening to this you may well find yourself short of breath and lacking oxygen and whether that is a peaceful way to go is something that can only be speculated on. Whatever way you look on it, it’s a trip and one that in this musical form is well worth experiencing.
http://www.myspace.com/altarofplagues
http://www.profoundlorerecords.com
