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Altar Of Plagues: Mammal

11/08/11 || The Duff

Altar of Plagues remained quite unknown with their debut full-length “White Tombs” yet highly lauded wherever mentioned. I won’t deny it was a glorious blend of black and post-rock that appears to be catching on nicely with outfits such as Fen, Alcest and Wolves in the Throne Room. These Irishmen are just two albums into their career running ahead of the pack, “Mammal” an album that showcases a steady evolution, a sense they’ve learned from mistakes past even if altogether we’re at less of a breathtaking affair and more of a well-rounded, more thoroughly atmospheric piece.

The album starts off cleverly with the lengthiest, most demanding track “Neptune is Dead”, there being four presented altogether as with “White Tombs”. Also as with “White Tombs”, “Mammal” comprises the same degree of sparsity with riffs running on from each other over several measures so as to maintain a consistent, hypnotic mindset – not for those with short attention spans. If I had one criticism it is that such can appear a lackadaisical approach to filling albums with sufficient content; for a sub-genre that has become quite popular of late, for example, in giving one throwaway track amidst four of the album’s total in my mind implies some unwillingness to compromise arguably unnecessary atmosphere that doesn’t do the scene many favors.

Track “When the Sun Drowns in the Ocean” pays homage to the band’s Gaelic roots (that’s ye olde speak for “Irish”, I’m certain of this as I am that it is Gaelic) with a recitation of sorts in true freaky-deaky style, only to drag on into eerie Deathspell fashion for a fifth of the album. What with riffs playing in cycles to true Burzum/Isis fashion elsewhere throughout “Mammal” though it might as well be a quarter, and while I admire making an album sound epic, there’s always the nagging feeling the band is being lazy at the listener’s expense.

Personally, I don’t mind much because I think Altar of Plagues are terrific and I try to support the metal underground as much as possible, most probably because I’m one of few on Earth who listens to the genre exclusively (I’m not proud of this, don’t worry). To many however this might appear a case of not nearly getting your money’s worth. But they have learned from their mistakes where a bulk of one of four cuts off their debut was a lot of empty space, at the least “When the Sun…” is a worthwhile breather on an album full of air, if I may rim my metaphorical anus. D-… did I say that right?

The production is lush, benefiting the dull nature of dispiriting black metal while allowing the full-bodied, post-rock “hooray for overcoming adversity” sections to swirl and encompass. The latter of these though have been toned down some, to the point that although indicative of a group that has seasoned well as musicians wanting to be possibly less striking, we’re left with a less stellar, breathtaking affair as with the debut.

Special mention must go to the drumming on this effort, which is very well performed and of course commended for its exceptionally vibrant, natural timbre. The rest of the band fails to strike out at any one point, if it did the album’s purpose would be defeated, so in conclusion my opinion on “Mammal” is that it should be valued a worthy successor to the outstanding “White Tombs” if only appearing a touch treading water, where the music is more subdued, less remarkable.

7,5

Information
Released: 2011
Label: Candlelight Records
Website: Altar Of Plagues MySpace
Band
James Kelly: vocals
Dave Condon: bass, vocals
Johnny King :drums

Tracklist
01. Neptune is Dead
02. Feather and Bone
03. When the Sun Drowns in the Ocean
04. All Life Converges to Some Centre

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