Have you ever looked out on to the ocean, then thought to yourself in wonderment how vast it is & how it seems to go on forever? Have you ever looked at the mountains & wondered how were these artistic giant rock formations were created? Have you ever allowed music to change the way you think music can be made? The band Altar Of Plagues have changed the way I listen to the atmosphere that surrounds my humanity. Their album Mammal, out via Profound Lore Records, really is on it’s own plane of creation, where time can be frozen, then melt into cascading walls of ethereal sonics. Freedom is a word, but for many people it’s not an action. Altar Of Plagues embody creative freedom – to make the kind of album that they did, you have to be free & confident in the power you have over what you make. To me, the songs on this album are almost mini-albums unto themselves. The first composition on this album is a mammath 18-minute track called “Neptune is Dead” – the drums are a layer of tension that awakens your spirit. On top of this are shrill screamings of triumph that promote a sense of strength & blackened hope. The emotional glue of this song is the emotive guitar that transforms with each passing note. This is a song that will make you reflect. The ancient chant that starts off “When the Sun Drowns in the Ocean” is totally spell-binding, then there are tones of descent & as you start to feel like you’re floating downward, you are brought back up by more ancient chanting. Altar Of Plagues have this real organic feeling to what they do & when I listen to this band I begin to know what infinity might feel like! Honestly, I found it hard to write this review, not because I did not like this album, on the contrary, this record has left me in total fucking amazement and at a loss for words to describe its’ greatness. After the jump, check out some really rad live footage!
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