DISCOG DISSECTION: Altarage - "Apocalyptic Dissonance as Doctrine"

 

Few bands embody sonic hostility like Altarage. Emerging from Bilbao’s shadowed depths, they’ve built a discography that doesn’t just challenge listeners — it punishes them. Their music is faceless, formless, and fiercely uncompromising, a testament to death metal’s most experimental fringes.

Their journey began with “MMXV”, a demo that snarled with intent, followed by the suffocating debut “Nihl”, where dissonance and decay reigned supreme. “Endinghent” pushed further into the abyss, layering industrial dread over tectonic riffwork. With “The Approaching Roar”, Altarage refined their assault — sharper, more immediate, yet no less punishing.

Then came “Succumb”, a descent into ritualistic noise and mechanical rhythm, followed by “Sol Corrupto”, which blurred the line between death metal and sonic architecture. “Worst Case Scenario” and the EP “Cataract" continued the evolution — chaotic, abstract, and hostile to convention.

Altarage don’t perform music. They construct sonic monoliths and let them collapse on top of you. No names. No faces. Just pure, unrelenting extremity.

THE SLUDGELORD: Cast your mind back, when did Altarage first become conceptualized because now that you’re no longer anonymous, people may not know this, but you were the founder, principal songwriter, singer and guitarist for HOTR. While you might not view your writing as markedly different, there is an obvious and dramatic shift in tone from that band to Altarage.
 
I started this as a personal project at the same time I was writing the final HOTR album, in early 2014 but the seeds were planted about 2010, I think. I was revisiting the two demos I did with my band Burial back in 1992 and approached my two old bandmates to get those songs recorded for the album that never was recorded,  but they were not into it so I kind of dismissed that option and started to write a more brutal album for HOTR, being “Grengus”.  A friend told me that I should start a Death Metal band again but I was comfortable doing this mix of things in HOTR. And so “Grengus” came as a very heavy record and Summoning Deliverance was even heavier and the next batch of songs was too much for HOTR so that´s when I decided to put them aside and create a proper environment for them in Altarage. There was no plan at all beyond recording an album but, slowly, the project became what it is today.
 
THE SLUGELORD: You mention you just write music and perhaps see yourself as having more in common with bands outside the sphere of extreme metal, maybe even more of a rock band. However, you must listen to a lot of dissonant rock bands, because your debut album 'NIHL' is certainly not as accessible as say Boston—or perhaps it is, if you’re a fan of dissonant music, haha. Can you say a few words about the conception of that record? Did you finish HOTR and go straight into that record? Also, forgive me for saying so, it sounds a little rough around the edges (was that by design) compared to 'Succumb', which seems more polished?
 
Well, I see ourselves having more in common with bands like The Melvins, High on Fire, Confessor or Soundgarden than with black metal bands out there, because I think we do things our way and try to not stay in one place all the time. Of course, Death Metal is our root but there´s so much going on. The “NIHL” album was recorded in early 2015 and HOTR was still functioning until the break up in December of that year, so I was doing both for a couple of years or so. Xanpe worked on the last three HOTR albums and did “NIHL” too but I needed to direct him on this new approach, doing an over the top production, totally on purpose, yes. I remember him trying to understand the sounds in the first Impetuous Ritual album was like a mindfuck!
I love Boston, by the way.
 
THE SLUDGELORD: You’re five albums deep now and it has been nearly ten years since your debut. Did your approach to each album change from one to the next? I’m guilty of failing to read liner notes, so it may be there in black and white—but did you change producers, mixers, studios, guitars, amps, and perhaps aim for something different album to album?
 
6 albums, since “Sol Corrupto” is a full length. Every time the songs are different and no matter what you do, the sound will be different too. We always try to do the best albums for us but the approach is always the same: we record live in the studio seeking the best performances and sounds. Sometimes we work with different engineers and studios just to try new things.
 

THE SLUDGELORD: You may not want to nor be able to answer this, but what would be your personal rating for each album? Can you say a few words about each album and what do you think AI would say about them?
 
Actually, I don´t give a flying fuck about AI.
I cannot rank the albums but I can tell you this:

“NIHL”
I don’t know where it came from but the riffs started to flow nonstop, although there was a huge work and changes in the actual songs until we hit the studio in spring 2015. The production was over the top, just getting away from cleaner sounds

“ENDINGHENT”
We down tuned the key to make it weirder and heavier, but the mix was something that differed from the actual sound in the studio,  hat was monstrous. The overall production is something we despised in the beginning, but the songs were huge. We are at peace with its clarity now.

“THE APPROACHING ROAR”
Here, although the majority of the songs are fast, with blasts and all, there is a sense of something breathing underneath, roaring, with a pulse of doom, and the first hints of drone.  A good way to forget the bit of deception we had with the previous album.

“SUCCUMB”
This was planned as a shorter album than it was. I kept writing songs, at first destined for the next record but, in the end, decided to include it here, because they were ripping. It was recorded and mixed by Xanpe, who did “NIHL” too and it can be noted for the over the top nature of it, culminating with the huge drone piece at the end.

“SOL CORRUPTO”
This was a long time coming. Since 2017 we were talking about doing something doomier and different. The drone tentacles were everywhere. One of my favorites LPs.

“WORST CASE SCENARIO”
I remember hearing in my head a lot of Confessor and Atheist at the time of writing this collection of songs. The production was cleaner than it was intented at first but, in the end, it was perfect for what it was.
 

THE SLUDGELORD: Recently you decided to play two shows as a regular band. Did you find the anonymity and being in a box present a challenge, hence the decision to become unmasked? To the eagle-eyed, many of us have speculated that current Wormed drummer Gabriel 'V-Kazar' Valcázar is in the band?
 
In recent times there has been like a flood of hooded or masked bands, as it was a genre in itself. At first we did it to get the focus on the music only, not saying where we came from regarding bands, but you know what? Nobody cared because they see a masked band picture and they get to the conclusion that you play the same music as this hooded or that masked band! Blackened whatever…  A lot of people listen to music with their eyes.

You almost hit the jackpot but no. Our drummer is the vocalist of Wormed, Phlegeton.
 

THE SLUDGELORD: Finally, now that you’re unmasked, what can we expect from Altarage 2.0—a new album, tour?
 
2.0? Haha, all stays the same. We have a new album about to be released that will speak for itself, and some live activity for 2026, it seems.
 

Check out my favourite Atarage albums below, let me know your thoughts, do you agree and how would you rate them? (I didn’t include “Sol Corrupto” because I thought  it was an EP)

5).
 
⚔️ “Worst Case Scenario” issued September 15th, 2023

 
🩸Stand out track(s) “Enigma Signals”, “Case Full of Putrid Stars”, “Cataract”, “Gift of Awakening”, “Verdict”, “The Rigid Subject”

4).
 
⚔️ “NIHL” issued February 26th, 2016

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Devicet”, “Womborus”, “Graehence”, “Baptism Nihil”, “Vortex Pyramid”, “Batherus”, “Altars”, Cultus”,

3).
 
⚔️ “Endinghent” issued October 13th, 2017

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “Incessant Magma”, “Spearheaderon”, “Cataclysmic Triada”, “Rift”, “Orb Terrax”, “Weighteer”, “Barrier”

2).
 
⚔️ “Succumb” April 23rd, 2021

🩸Stand out track(s) “Negative Arrival”, “Magno Evento”, “Maneuvre”, “Foregone”, “Drainage Mechanism”, “Watcher Witness”, “Lavath”, “Forja”, “Inwards”,

1).
 
⚔️ “The Approaching Roar” issued January 29th, 2019

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “Sighting”, “Knowledge”, “Hieroglyphic Certainty”, “Cyclopean Clash”, “Inhabitant”, “Chaworos Sephelln”, “Werbuild”, “Engineer”,

DISCOG DISSECTION: Death - "A Legacy in Death Metal"

 

Often considered as the first “true” death metal band  and the early pioneers of the genre, Death was formed in Orlando, Florida under their original guise of Mantas by the legendary Chuck Schuldiner. Creators of what is (widely considered) the first “true” death metal album, 1987’s debut “Scream Bloody Gore”, Chuck Schuldiner remained the band’s driving force, sole consistent member, and principal songwriter until his untimely death in 2001.

Schuldiner's vision and musicianship not only helped shape the band (from their raw and more primal beginnings) but evolved the genre itself into something more technical and progressive, utilizing different time signatures and incorporating his varied influences into the mix. 

With each subsequent release following their debut, each album would evolved and with it brought about line-up changes (seemingly the more technical it became, the talent needed to fit the style) until their final release of their final album and (arguably their best) “The Sound of Perseverance (1998)”

Admittedly, when I started to get into metal (back in the early nineties) when Death were beginning to establish themselves, I was very much stuck in one lane in terms of musical tastes and perhaps my ears just weren't ready for death metal at the time and so almost 40 years later since “Scream Blood Gore”, I have rectified my error and can only reinforce what is already widely known, Death are indeed true pioneers and it is testament to the brilliance of Chuck Schuldiner that his discography sounds as fresh and unique today as it did back in the day.    

Check out my favourite Death albums below, let me know your thoughts, do you agree and how would you rate them?

7).
 
⚔️”Leprosy” issued November 16th, 1989

🩸Stand out track(s) “Leprosy”, “Forgotten Path”, “Left to Die”, “Open Casket” “Primitive Ways”

6).
 
 
⚔️ “Scream Bloody Gore” March 25th, 1986

🩸Stand out track(s) “Infernal Death”, “Zombie Ritual”, “Denial of Life”, “Sacrificial”, “Mutilation”, “Regurgitated Guts”, “Baptized in Blood”, “Torn to Pieces” “Scream Bloody Gore”

5).
 
⚔️ “Spiritual Healing” issued February 16th, 1990

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Living Monstrosity”, “Altering The Future”, “Defensive Personalities”, “Within their Mind”, “Spiritual Healing”, “Low Life”, “Genetic Reconstruction”, “Killing Spree”

4).
 
⚔️ “Symbolic” issued March 21st, 1995

🩸”Symbolic”, “Zero Tolerance”, Empty Words”, “1,000 Eyes”, “Without Judgement” “Crystal Mountain”, “Misantthrope”, “Perennial Quest”

3).
 
⚔️” The Sound of Perseverance” issued September 15th, 1998

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “Scavenger of Human Sorrow”, “Bite The Pain”, “Spirit Crusher”, “Story To Tell”, “Flesh and the Power it Holds”, “A Moment of Clarity”

2).
 
⚔️ “Individual Thought Patterns” issued June 22nd, 1993
 

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Overactive Imagination”, “Inhuman Form”, “Jealousy”, “Nothing Is Eveyrhing”, “Mentally Blind”, “Destiny”, “Out of Touch”

1).
 
⚔️ “Human” issued October 22nd, 1991

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “Flattening of Emotions”, “Suicide Machine”, “Together As One”, “Secret Face”, Lack of Comprehension” “See Through Dreams”, “Vacant Planets”

DISCOG DISSECTION: Gojira - "The Evolution of a French Metal Titan"

Whilst admittedly, I am not the greatest fan of their output over the last decade, Gojira (hailing from Bayonne, France),  certainly carved a lasting impression upon my metal DNA during their 3 album run of “From Mars to Sirius”, “The way of all flesh” and “L’Enfant Sauvage”.  Indeed, over the subsequent years, Gojira have forged an amazing career for themselves, carving a unique niche in the world of heavy metal since their formation in 1996 and are arguably France’s greatest musical export.

As my musical tastes shifted, Gojira’s evolution and artistic ambition grew. Once revered for their intricate musicianship, environmentally conscious lyrics, and progressive style, over the last decade, we have seen Gojira shed their death metal skin in favour of melody and even accessibility, resulting in  what we see today, “The Evolution of a French metal Titan”. 

Check out my favourite Gojira albums below, let me know your thoughts, do you agree and how would you rate them?

7).

⚔️ “Fortitude” issued April 30, 2021

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Born For One Thing”, “Another World”, “New Found”, “Sphinx”, “Into The Storm”

6).
 
⚔️ “Terra Incognito” issued March 19th, 2001

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “Clone”, “Lizard Skin”, “Deliverance”, “Rise”, “Fire is Everything”, “Love”

5).
 
⚔️ “Magma” issued June 17, 2016

🩸 Stand out track(s) “The Shooting Star”, “Silvera”, “The Cell”, “Stranded”, “Pray”, “Only Pain”

4).
 
⚔️ “The Link”, issued 18th April, 2003

 
🩸 Stand out track(s) “The Link”, “Death of Me”, “Remembrance”, “Embrace The World”, “Inward Movement”

3).
 
⚔️ “L’Enfant Sauvage” issued June 26, 2012

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Explosia”, “L’Enfant Sauvage”, “The Axe”, “Planned Obsolescence”, “Mouth of Kala”, “The Gift of Guilt”, “Pain Is a Master”

2).
 
⚔️ “The Way of all flesh” issued 10th June, 2008

🩸 Stand out track(s): “Ouroboros”, “Toxic Garbage Island”, “A Sight To Behold”, “Yama’s Messengers”, “All The Tears”, “Adoration of None”, “The Art of Dying”, “Esoteric Surgery”, “Vacuity”, “Wolf down the Earth”, “The way of all flesh”,

1).
 
⚔️ “From Mars to Sirius”, issued 27th September, 2005

🩸 Stand out track(s) “Ocean Planet”, “Backbone”, “From The Sky”, “Where Dragons Dwell”, “The Heaviest Matter of the Universe” “Flying Whales”, “In The Wilderness”, “To Sirius”
 

ALBUM REVIEW: Deicide, "Banished By Sin"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 26/04/2024
Label: Reigning Phoenix Music

 
“Banished By Sin” CD//DD//LP track listing:
 
1. From Unknown Heights You Shall Fall
2. Doomed To Die
3. Sever The Tongue
4. Faithless
5. Bury The Cross…With Your Christ
6. Woke From God
7. Ritual Defied
8. Failures Of Your Dying Lord
9. Banished By Sin
10. A Trinity Of None
11. I Am I…A Curse Of Death
12. The Light Defeated
 
The Review:

Deicide are, undeniably, one of the classic bands of the death metal genre. Even though their lyrical themes don’t really concern death, usually, and are instead often blasphemous tracts against him upstairs and his son.
 
Having made an absolute classic debut, followed it with three further classics in a row and then… seen out their Roadrunner Records contract (!), the band were rejuvenated briefly twenty years ago with “Scars of the Crucifix”, prior to the departure of the hulking Hoffman brothers. The band has then seen different line ups come and go, some great records (“Stench of Redemption”) some passable ones (“To Hell With God”, “Til Death Do Us Part”) and on a general level, has kept going. We are nearly 35 years into recorded output at this point. I remember Motorhead’s 25^th anniversary and that, at the time, was almost unthinkable.
 
Does the world need another Deicide album? Does Glen Benton have anything left to say? Does Steve Asheim still want to write full length death metal albums in between going to the shooting range, smoking weed and lifting weights?!
 
Well, regardless of the answers to those questions, we have another Deicide album. The AI infused artwork may have caused some controversy, but it looks fine to me (I know, I know, I said that about the Pestilence art as well, so… art is in the eye of the beholder, or something). Firstly, the sound: it’s polished, machined, clear, slick… nothing like the debut. Not as individualistic as “Once Upon The Cross”. It sounds thoroughly modern- your views will be your own in that regard.
 
From “Unknown Heights You Shall Fall” sounds like Deicide circa 2024- everything professional, slick and in the right place. Benton still does the low and high double tracking, the instrumentation chugs and churns along. “Doomed To Die” offers more of the same, slick pacing and hooks. Across the forty minutes here, it really is business as usual. At 12 tracks, it’s two tracks too long, but that’s churlish talk.
 
My main issue with “Banished By Sin” is that it is perhaps a little too safe, a little too familiar. Deicide have nothing new to say- they haven’t since 1997- but they have occasionally found better ways to say them. Some of their albums are better than others, some are more fiery, some less committed to the cause and so on. I found myself enjoying the atmospheric riffage intro of “Faithless” a lot more than the more run of the mill songs contained here, that’s for sure.
 
Yes, “Bury The Cross With Your Christ” is absolutely what you want from the band, while “Woke From God” offers up an excellent song title and excellent lead work- but you may have heard this all before.
 
The title track is great; classic rolling feel, lovely lead work, headbanging opportunities aplenty!
I suppose the album could be summed up by saying that if you have never heard Deicide but like death metal (?!) then you will like this. If you are a fully paid up Deicide fan, you’ll like this. If you are a fan of a few albums here and there- perhaps of the old school variety, you may be a little less sure. I’m in the latter camp, and to be clear there is absolutely nothing wrong with this record: all parts are present and correct.  They may never top “O.U.T.C.” in my eyes, but they are still ferocious and kicking against the Christians with bile. The fact that this album didn’t fully do it for me is my problem. Deicide, it’s not you- it’s me!
 

Band info: official || facebook || instagram

ALBUM REVIEW: Cruciamentum, “Obsidian Refractions”

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 24/11/2023
Label: Profound Lore Records

 
“Obsidian Refractions” track listing:
 
1. Charnel Passages
2. Abhorrence Evangelium
3. Necropolis Of Obsidian Mirrors
4. Scorn Manifestation
5. Interminable Rebirth Of Abomination
6. Drowned
 
The Review:
 
British death metal? Well, there are some great examples out there; Bolt Thrower, Carcass… Cruciamentum?! Yes, them too- even if they have US and UK blood. While we are a few years on from “Charnel Passages”, this sophomore full length picks up where that nasty slab of malevolence left off. Indeed, “Obsidian Refractions” opens with a song called “Charnel Passages” which is creepy and packed with riffs, blasts and double bass drum carnage.
 
This type of death metal is nothing like the other two mentioned British dead legends. Cruciamentum are dark and complex with an arcane and sinister atmosphere pervading their compositions. It’s not hooky or necessarily song based- it’s atmospheric and evil but not ‘br00tal’ in the way of USDM like Cannibal or Morbid Angel, or Cryptopsy etc.
 
The six songs on offer here offer up epic soundscapes, during which growled vocals tell tales of suffering and woe. It’s bleak stuff and made bleaker by some black metal type riff progressions here and there. “Abhorrence Evangelium” is more of the same style; lots of tempo changes, some dynamics, a solo of atonal delights and it’s all wrapped up in a very solid production job. “Necropolis of Obsidian Mirrors” is the best title on the album and it’s this kind of fantasy horror that lends itself to death metal so well.
 
In fact, the whole album is the aural equivalent of a nightmarish landscape, filled with horror both seen and unseen. It’s unsettling and violent. With the second half of the album opening with “Scorn Manifestation” at quite a thrashy gallop, the band manages to engage the listener straight away (on every song) and the blasting verses alternated with slower passages. “Interminable Rebirth of Abomination” starts slower and uses reverb drenched riffage to excellent effect.
 
As you might expect from the short tracklist, the songs are lengthy; the band stretches to over ten minutes on closer “Drowned” (not an Entombed cover!) with only “Abhorrence…” clocking under five minutes. Epic and sprawling is the order of the day, then, which is perfect for the band’s expansive sound. Drowned mixes sinister atmospherics- imagine Dragged Into Sunlight crossed with Dissection and something American, maybe that’s close-ish to the vibe here. Overall, it’s six dense compositions of thorn filled death metal, played expertly. If you are a death metal fan, this is simply a must hear.
 
Come and get lost in the labyrinthine nightmare that is “Obsidian Refractions”; you won’t escape these charnel passages unscathed.
 
“Obsidian Refractions” is available HERE 

Band info: bandcamp || facebook