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”,

INTERVIEW: Rouen blackened hardcore merchants Pilori discuss their genre bending new record

Stéphane Marry (c) @pixels.story

“Hell is only a word, the reality is much worse” Event Horizon 1997

Delivering a record with the ferocity and intensity of Pilori’s sophomore Quand Bien Meme L’Enfer et le Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous,” roughly translated as “Even though Hell and the Deluge Would Fall on Us”, makes me wonder whether the band themselves, have actually visited hell and brought this record back with them.

To experience “Quand Bien Meme L’Enfer et le Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous“in all its hellish glory, is to imagine being wrapped up in barbed wire and thrown down a hill.  Today we have invited front man Greg from Pilori to discuss how this punishing record came to be.  

SL: Hey Greg, welcome to THE SLUDGELORD!! Could you tell our readers a little about yourself, how you started playing music, leading up to the formation of your band?

 Gr. (vocals): First of all, I wanna say 'hi !' to all the readers of this. Then, we're Pilori, we come from Rouen, in Normandy (France), and we're four lads in the band. As so many and many bands, the start of Pilori is simple and not so interesting. I know my guitarist, R., for years now and one day, at the release party of his other band, The Birds End, which is instrumental post-rock, he came to see me cause he wanna play something different, something more in his black metal/death metal/crust hardcore roots. I was fucking excited about the idea to play this kind of sounds that I loved, but even more excited to play with him cause he’s a fucking good guitarist and a fucking good guy. We began to write the first tracks, we began to looking for musicians to play with us... So it was, as simple as it seems, the beginning of Pilori. Nothing more. You see : not interesting haha !

SL: For those people unfamiliar with Pilori, are there any bands on the scene past and present that you would use as a reference point to describe your band, and who or what continues to inspire you and push you to try new things?

Gr. (vocals): I think that Pilori is a sum of a lot of different bands, of a lot of different influences. I think this is our print now, our style, and it's that people often write and say about us. You can find black and death influences, blend with some grind, chaotic and crust influences. So, I could tell about bands like Napalm Death, Entombed, Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Angelcorpse, Immortal, Watain, Rotten Sound, Darkthrone, Nails, Full of Hell, Gaza, Cult Leader... For the most recent stuffs, and also more local cause they're french, I wanna also talk about Fange, Mourir, Plebeian Grandstand, Celeste...

I just talk about bands from the scene that we really like, cause we aren't listen just extreme music. For example, I'm a huge listener of post-punk shit and there are a lot of bands who inspired me in this kind of sounds. It's the same for the other members. I really think that the other genres are opening us to new sounds and allows us to try new things.

SL: What can you tell us about your latest record “Quand Bien Même L'Enfer et le Déluge S'abattraient sur Nous” and where do you feel it sits within the context of your local scene and the wider metal scene as a whole?

Gr. (vocals) : I can tell you something simple and very cliché : we're fucking proud of it ! But I mean it a lot! When you read many interviews of many bands, especially mainstream bands, they're still proud of their new album even if it sounds like shit compared to the oldest. But it's just some promotion talks. Corey Taylor is a specialist of it, but who really think that Slipknot's new records are better than the first ones? Anyway, we're so proud of this second LP, we're proud of our writing process, of the production, the way it sounds, ‘cause we worked a lot on it, even harder than we worked on “À Nos Morts”. On our first record, nobody expecting us, and even us we don't know what we can expect. We just wanna made a LP, period. Nothing more, nothing less. For this new one, we want more haha ! We knew ourselves better, what we want to do, what we can do, and we prepare it the most that we can do. I also think that we find our own sound, our “Pilori style”, and we assume it more.

Personally, there are plenty of songs in this album that I really really like, that I like to listen to, that I like to play. I like my own voice, what I've done, which is not always the case, even if I still think that here or here I could do more, I could bo better... Regarding our local scene, in Rouen, I think that no one does the same sound or the same style as us. I also think this is real for the French scene in general. We're pretty unique haha !!! But I don't like comparison, competition, so I'll stop it right now.

SL: What was the writing and rehearsal process like for your album

Gr. (vocals): Our first LP, “À Nos Morts”, was released in May 2020, during the Covid pandemic. So we were in a dynamic, we wanna make things, and in the meantime we were very frustrated, but not resigned. We try our best to take all the opportunities to play and tour when it was possible, and we also have some times to keep writing songs with the curfew or lockdown. This first album was very well-received, so it motivated us a lot. We took this dynamic and this frustration, and, in addition to “classic” rehearsals, two times we rent an Airbnb in the Normandy countryside, in the middle of nowhere, and lock ourselves during days, to write this new album. We just played music all day long between us. After that, we keep writing and make the song arrangements from home cause it's very easy now, all the new technologies allowed it.

 

SL: What stands out as your overarching memory from the recording sessions?
 
Gr. (vocals): A lot of positive things. Really. Even if I try hard, I can't remember something negative. We were very well-prepared, we made demo of each song, we went a lot in rehearsals, and we recorded in a place that we know by heart with a guy who know us by heart (La Gare aux Musiques with Bertrand Lebourgeois, at 30 kms of Rouen). When we made our first album, we were less prepared, and, except for the drum parts, we done it in some kind of DIY spirit, ‘cause we recorded it ourselves in the super tiny home studio of our former bassist.
 
For this new record, we took more times, in a “real” studio with better stuffs, better materials, and a “real” sound guy. Everything was easier, and every one of us was super excited to play and record his parts. If I could keep just one memory, I would say the first day of guitar takes. When my drummer, my bass player and me came at the studio, our guitarist was already there and has already prepared all his stuffs with our sound guy. There were 4 cabinets with 4 amp heads and a ton of pedals around, and nearly ten mics to record all this shit. I can easily remember the smile on all our faces, and the excitation that we all felt at the moment where we started recording the guitar and when we heard that crazy sound.
 
SL: Does anything spring to mind when you think about the completion of your new album and with than in mind, how is the mood in the camp at present?

Gr. (vocals): In our camp, the mood is always good, always positive! I think that is why the things goes so well for Pilori : I've the huge chance to work with great dudes who are great friends, they all have a good mentality, a good state of mind. I'm serious, I mean it, this is the best line-up and the best people to work with. So, the mood is offensive now: we wanna do things, play a lot, defend this album anywhere and everywhere !

SL: There is often very little focus given to the album artwork, which for me is an integral part of the record, can you tell us a little about the artist, how the artwork come to fruition and your thoughts on the completed piece?  Perhaps tell us about some of your own favourite album covers?
 
Gr. (vocals): The artwork was made by an Indonesian artist, Jois Cabe. He's also the guy behind our first album cover. It's an amazing artist and a great dude, it was a real pleasure to work with him again. I've just gave him the name of the album, the meaning of it, and he can do whatever he want and feel. Our talks and exchanges were good, he quickly understood the point. Like you, the visuals are an important part of an album for me, and I really think that this artwork is the perfect fit for this album. We're very proud of it, really, we find it awesome, more than expected! And we've very good feedback on it.
To talk about my favorite album covers, I just wanna say that I've always loved covers without artist names. When you have just an artwork, a visual, and no other infos. I always found it great, that's why we do it with Pilori haha!
 
SL: With your new record completed, what are you planning as far as shows in the near future?
 
Gr. (vocals): We plan to do a lot of shows cause we love playing and touring so much. Be on the road, it's one of the thing we like the most. So it's the plan: play as much as possible, anywhere. Till the end of 2022, we already have 19 shows scheduled, in Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and for sure, in France. Some shows and tour are also already booked for 2023. And, when we'll be tired about playing and touring, we'll do a new album !
 
SL: Finally, do you have any last words?
 
Gr. (vocals): Thanks to you for your interest, thanks to everyone who's reading this, thanks to everyone who support us in any way.  And don't forget to support your local scene and independent/underground bands. Go to the shows in the tiny club of your city, buy some merch, and keep listening to all the underground scene. It's always a thug time for this scene, and it's always getting worse and worse. So many independent venues are closing...
 
The End.

Band info: piloriband

ALBUM REVIEW: Pilori, “Quand Bien Meme L’Enfer et le Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous”

By: Richard Maw
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 26/08/2022
Label: 7 degrees | Abyssal Cvlt | Bad Moon Rising |
Black Omega Recordings | Black Terror Distro | BRC-30
Coups de Couteau | Hecatombe Records | Itawak Records |
Black Omega Recordings | Black Terror Distro | BRC-30
Coups de Couteau | Hecatombe Records | Itawak Records |
Loner Cult | Sleepy Dog Records | Terrain Vague | Ugly & Proud Records |
Wrecking Crew Records |Total Dissonance Worship

 
 
“Quand Bien Meme L’Enfer et le Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous” CD//CS/DD//LP  track listing:
 
1. De Guerre Lasse
2. Meurtrière
3. Entre Chien Et Loup (feat. Gabriel Dubko from Implore)
4. Maelström
5. Quand Bien Même L'Enfer...
6. Une Livre De Chair
7. Où Gisent Les Ancres
8. Au Prix De Tous Les Sacrifices
9. En Haut Des Cimes
10. ...Et Le Déluge
 
The Review:

Clearly, these French blackened crust/death/grind merchants are not trying to be as accessible as possible to non-French speakers; the titles are stretching my GCSE level of French well beyond its meagre limits. Regardless of language barriers, this is furious and ferocious stuff. There is a post metal element to their sound with dissonant guitar work rearing up now and again. The bass tone is suitably grimy, the drums thrash, blast and roll with admirable aggression and the whole experience is one of being wrapped in barbed wire and thrown down a (French) hill, perhaps landing in the moat of a chateau at the bottom.
 
The album has the speed and power to mix it with any band booked for the smaller stages at Damnation festival and the record rattles by at a fair clip. The band do what they do extremely well with real grind elements mixing with a very blackened feel, “Maelstrom” (that one I can understand!) is exactly like the title implies while elsewhere the band mixes hardcore, black metal, grindcore, post metal and punk elements to concoct a heady mixture that works.
 
It's an exhausting listen and one for fans of genre blending bands. The band are active and gigging in France- perhaps they will make the trip across from Rouen to the UK? I’m confident that everyone from crust punks to black metal fans would enjoy this both on record and in the live arena. Frightening stuff.
 
“Quand Bien Meme L’Enfer et le Deluge S’abbattraient sur Nous” is available HERE 

Band info: piloriband

ALBUM REVIEW: Chestcrush, "Vdelygmia"

By: Peter Morsellino
 
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 14/07/2021
Label: Independent
 

“Vdelygmia” CS//CD//DD track listing:
 
1). The Ingester
2). Different Shepherd Same Sheep
3). Grudge
4). Theocracyst
5). Burden
6). Let Them Crawl
7). Skullcrush
8). Vothrodoxia
9). Vaptizetai O Doulos
 
 
The Review:
 
 
With their first full length album, “Vdelygmia”, Edinburgh’s Chestcrush set out to stake a claim to the throne of the Blackened Death Metal world.  Meaning abomination, filth, or repulsion, “Vdelygmia” is the perfect title to describe what it is the listener is about to hear. 
 
Chestcrush come out the gate strong.  A very creepy ambient introductory track gives way to the bludgeoning punishment of proper opener, “Different Shepherd, Same Sheep”.  This track provides a solid thesis for the album, acting as an overture towards what is to come.  We are presented with an incredibly heavy sound, combining elements of Death Metal with Black Metal and Grindcore.  Tempos shift from a sludgy grind to passages of blistering speed with ease.  A strong sense of dread is present throughout each track, creating an unsettling atmosphere that pairs perfectly with the darkness of Chestcrush’s lyrical themes. 
 
Other stand out tracks include “Theocracyst”, with its slowly picked introduction lulling listeners to a false sense of security before beating them over the skull with the pounding rhythms that the young band will certainly become known for.  “Let Them Crawl” is a positively evil sounding track, that I am sure could summon the devil himself with its swirling dynamics and crushing grooves. 
 
Chestcrush presents its own unique brand of Death Metal to listeners at the breakneck speeds that are to be expected from the genre, but that is not that the sound is without heart.  Each track brings together a range of emotion, preventing the songs from falling into the cold trappings of soulless blast beats and guitar soloing.  Each note is presented with purpose here, creating a musical experience that will last long after the first listen.
 
“Vdelygmia” is not an album for the faint of heart.  This falls securely into the range of music that can peel the paint off of walls.  It can crush skulls (and chests, I suppose,) and lay waste to the surroundings of your sound system.  But if pounding rhythms and searing leads are what you are looking for, then you will not want to sleep on Chestcrush.  Give it a listen.
 
 
“Vdelygmia” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

PREMIERE: Check out Freedom Fist's self titled incendiary debut

 

With song titles like “14 Million Cunts”, “Sectarian Centurian” and “Not Ma Queen”, Freedom Fist’s incendiary self-titled debut release is somewhat of a call to arms to the Scottish population, to put aside your fears, take a leap of faith and cut the umbilical cord of Westminster, The Crown and become a sovereign nation and truly independent.

Whilst it could be said, this release is 7 years late, (The Scottish independence referendum was in 2014), given the fractious state of the world, there has perhaps never been a better time to push for independence once more (just look at the damage Brexit has caused).

Set against a backdrop of D-beats, blasts, wretched and tormented vocals, scummy guitars and blown out bass, I sense that Freedom Fist seek to educate the listener, dealing with themes of a heroin epidemic, a culture of violence, and sectarian servitude of the Glasgow football, with the underling message being, these issues won’t  resolve themselves unless a nation pulls together and addresses the societal imbalance.

Harnessing the rage, anger and frustration of a nation, Freedom Fist have created something preposterously filthy indeed and today you can check it out in full below.  “Freedom Fist” is issued tomorrow 30/04/2021 via Ripcord Records (order HERE)

 Band info: facebook

VIDEO PREMIERE: Cell Press fucking destroy with debut single "Desert Breath"

You know that feeling, when you spin a new record for the first time and it just fucking destroys you? Well today I am happy to report, Cell Press outta Montreal have truly delivered the goods with their debut self titled EP.  I mean fuck, is it any wonder this band rules, when they can boast members from the likes of The Great Sabatini, Biipiigwan, I Hate Sally, Architect.

 

With their self-titled release, Cell Press give zero fucks about accessibility, instead they focus on delivering punishing aggression with a melting pot of sludge metal, noise rock, and grindcore.

 

Be sure to dial those speakers up loud and watch you speakers die, as we debut the single “Desert Breath” below.  The “Cell Press” EP is set for release on November 27^th, digitally here and on limited edition cassette from No Funeral Records here and here >> Ancient Temple Recordings on Nov 27th.

ALBUM REVIEW: Depravation, “III:Odor Mortis”

By: Thomas Gonzales

Album Type: Full Length 

Date Released: 03/04/2020

Label: Lifeforce Records 

“III:Odor Mortis” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Casting Fear

2). Peitschenhieb

3). Misery

4). Beug Dich

5). Sickness

6). Amboss

7). Arrival

8). The Endless Night

9). Nothingness

The Review: 

Münster, Germany extreme music “DIY-ers” Depravation join metal label Lifeforce Records for the release of their 3^rd full album, “III:Odor Mortis”. Formed in 2011 Depravation are veterans of over 300 concerts across Europe, and multiple split collaborations spanning the musical stylings of Hardcore to Death Metal. They have sown success in the underground scene by sheer force of will, and the sweat from their collective brow; this relentless pursuit of aggressive song crafting, are translated into what may be their most brutal album to date. 

Free from the constraints of traditional Hardcore Punk and Crust, the framework for their latest release leans heavily on their Blackened Death influences. Full of aggressive blast beats, shrieking screams, and shredding riffs, “Odor Mortis” is a pulse pounding exercise in heavy music composition.  Amidst this slurry of genres, there are elements of Doom Metal and Grindcore, creating a sludgy and noxious soniscape, like moshing your way through a frozen field of viscera.  It is cold, brutal, and nasty.

It’s not all shredding riffs and pounding rhythms however, there are many “striking grooves and eerie melodies” throughout, which help to move the listener along a musical path. With “Sickness”, Depravation slow things down for a (mostly) instrumental track, accented only by a haunting denouncement of hatred spreading like a virus, choking out the light. The interlude is the only real break throughout the album, and it does a great job of setting off the final act. Concluding with pummeling drums, and mournfully distorted guitar parts, it gives way to probably the Blackest song on the record, “Amboss”. “Sickness” really feels like a transitional piece, as the latter part of the album is Blacker and Doom-ier than the more Hardcore start. It’s here that things seem to shift focus with the themes of the album.  “Nothingness” closes things out a somber Doom piece embracing the reality that there is no purpose, “nothingness unfolds”. It is bleak, and such a fantastic way to wind things down after taking the listener on such a tumultuous journey.

“I: Praedictvm EP” (2012) & “II: Maledictvm” (2013) are almost a decade in the past, and when you listen to them now, you can hear all the pieces coming together. The elements have carried through each project, and Depravation has acquired various techniques from their collaborators, and blended them into the band you hear today. Touring with Hardcore and Black Metal groups alike, has clearly influenced their song writing and helped them to create something all their own. Pick up “III: Odor Mortis” today from Lifeforce Records, and while you’re at, blast your way through their previous works.

“III: Odor Mortis” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Orphan Donor, "Old Patterns"

By: Peter Morsellino

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/03/2020

Label: Zegema Beach Records

“Old Patterns” CS//DD track listing:

1). Hamsteria

2). Salvia Is A Beach

3). New Patterns

4). Pole Disdain

5). Mind State Dependency

6). Old Stains

7). Planks

8). Body On Fire

9). Profound Loss

The Review:

Allentown's Orphan Donor brings noise music to uncharted territory with “Old Patterns”. With a dense, unforgiving atmosphere and breakneck speeds, Orphan Donor offer up the perfect record for present times.  Give a listen. I think you'll understand.

From the first moments of album opener “Hamsteria”, Orphan Donor's intentions are clear.  Grating feedback is quickly met with a chaotic drum solo before coming together in a fast paced cacophony.  “Salvia Is A Beach” offers up the same onslaught of sound while offering up a little more structure and melody.  This is one you can move around to a little better. “New Patterns” is generally a more mid paced number, which makes the return to the albums brutal speed all the more appreciated. Other stand out tracks include “Planks”, with its slowed down doomy atmosphere standing in stark contrast to the rest of the album, “Old Stains” with a breakdown that allows the bass to stand out in the mix, and the impressive closer, “Profound Loss”.

“Profound Loss” is at once the most dissonant piece on the album, while also showcasing a lighter sound, with much cleaner guitars being picked throughout it. The sad plucking of these strings provides the perfect backdrop for the continued driving pace of the album. They break the tension and provide “Old Patterns” with the perfect ending.  Like a bleak acceptance after you've burnt through your angry energy. Truly beautiful song writing there.

Musically, this album truly is something to behold. With a sound reminiscent of the modern black gaze movement, Orphan Donor chooses to not contrast their dirty sound with a beautiful melodic piece, but rather with slowed down passages.

Throughout these tracks, one constant holds true. That is the beauty that can be found in dirt and disharmony.  This is loud, abrasive music, yes, but it's true beauty lies in its representation. Not everything ugly has a beautiful counterpoint. Not every low is resolved with a high.  Sometimes things are just bleak.  It's not a fun thought, but if you can rationalize it you are in the perfect space to appreciate the music that is presented here. Orphan Donor gift us with a soundtrack to our despair without offering any false hope, and in a world full of false hopes and promises, I am grateful for that.

“Old Patterns” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook