September 18, 2008 | | 3.5

Altars, demo

I’m all for a raw feel to an album’s sound, but the muddy production on Australia based Altars’ demo is sometimes too much to overcome. Focusing through the murk, we hear a unique take on a blackened death metal sound. Crushing riffs, flesh searing solos and barbaric drumming highlight this five song disc that showcases a base for great potential from this quartet.

Mixing guitar squeals and thick riffs similar to those found in any Cannibal Corpse album, Lewis Fisher handles the task at hand well, shifting from chugging chords and technical leads smoothly. The rhythm section comprised of bass player Jon Dewar and drummer Alan Cadman lay down some beastly blasts and thundering paces to build off of. The guttural delivery from vocalist Cale Schmidt is perfectl inline with what one would expect from a slightly blackened death metal album — deep guttural growls and higher end shrieks.

Transcending the Spectral Plains
The opening track starts off with a Cannibal Corpse influenced bit of guitar work and a couple of grunts and growls from Schmidt. There’s plenty of double bass rolling in the background as the band settles into a driving pace. The vocals are well done with a mainly guttural delivery, punctuated by higher end screams as the riffing gets more evil as the track continues. There are some nice rhythm changes throughout, as well. There’s a great groove to this song from the start of the third minute that will have you head banging if you haven’t already sprained your neck yet.

Towers of Silence
“Towers of Silence” gets off to an insanely spastic start with some of more creative drum work you’ll hear on this demo. Cadman lays waste to his drumkit with a beastial bludgeoning with some seriously heavy hands. This is an aggressive, brutal track.

Besiege the Walls
Some nice riffing and drum work get this next one off to a chugging start. I love the drum work that’s been going on in the last two tracks. It’s creative and heavy. There’s a decent groove flowing through this track as the band does their best to blow eardrums with massive blasts and crushing riffs. Check out the huge scream and maniacal drumming at the 2:45 mark that then leads into some nice lead work.

Obstinance of Being
Altars keeps the pace rolling like an out-of-control big rig through your neighborhood with this next pummeling track. Lots of guitar noise punctuates this one with some nice experimentation as the vocals hit at some nice cadences and power. The crushing rhythms of this one are enough to suffocate a man with. The track ends with a big scream.

Fallen Beneath Seleucid Temples
The final track on the demo has nice guitar and drum work to get it going. Settling into a mid-tempo groove Altars proceeds to beat you about the head and shoulders with slick drum work and driving riffs. The lead around the 2:20 mark is a nice bit of guitar work as is the second one just 25 seconds later.

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Despite the muddy production, this is a great demo. It’s got everything a fan of aggressive metal could want — pummeling rhythms, manic drum work, crushing riffs and guttural vocals. What the band lacks in the production area, it more than makes up for with precision and fury. Definitely be on the look out for these guys in the future.

Favorite Tracks:
All of them

Additional Notes:
N/A