Review from Toilet Ov Hell

April 3, 2018
From: Toilet Ov Hell
Published: April 1, 2018

“Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection.”
-Schopenhauer

Prairie doom. Something about that designation seems incredibly fitting; on the plains, as often as not only the wind is to be heard, only a stunted tree here and there to be seen, and the surroundings are identified more by absence than presence. Doom’s inherent vastness, then, may be the perfect accompaniment to this environment. Its sprawling compositions, long and ponderous riffs, its willingness to let less be more stands in opposition to the packed-to-the-gills compositions and breakneck speed of tech death, the frenzy of grind and powerviolence, the chip-on-a-shoulder machismo of trad, et al ad nauseam. While it needn’t go so far as to be boring and undifferentiated, as the value of contrast is recognized by all truly good doom bands, nevertheless these bands also realize that compositions need room to breathe. And if there’s anything the prairie does offer in spades, it’s that.

If such a flowery description even applies, anyone could have envisioned that. What one can’t envision from afar is the psychological effect of prairie life on those who spend their lives there. Altars of Grief, by their own admission and having embraced the term “prairie doom,” can. Thus we turn to Iris, the second full-length from the Saskatchewan blackened doom quintet, following their 2014 debut This Shameful Burden. The latter capably established the group’s sonic palette by incorporating funereal and blackened influences, particularly through greater variation in tempo and dextrous drum work, while retaining its downtempo fundamentals and lyrical preoccupation with being a metal Eeyore. Yet at the same time it felt remarkably safe, as if they could have made a unified statement rather than a collection of isolated numbers, and could have further fleshed out their compositional influences, but chose not to. The result was a strong  but not a stunning debut, well-executed but at times cautious, and leaving the listener with a palpable sense of “what if.”

Iris, by contrast, is nakedly ambitious as a near-operatic concept album, but presents a rare hybrid of being at once daring and self-aware, pushing its strengths without attempting to go beyond its capabilities. Evocative of Woods of Ypres yet decidedly non-derivative, Iris is a psychologically harrowing and emotionally fraught journey through addiction, love, illness, religious fervor, and of course, death- and without doubt, it will be one of the standout albums of 2018, perhaps a watershed moment in Altars of Grief’s career (time will tell), and quite possibly a modern classic. Iris is, by all measures, brilliant.

“A father finds himself unable to connect with and care for his young daughter, Iris, who has fallen seriously ill. Spiralling deeper and deeper into his vices, and feeling rejected by Iris’ new found and unwavering faith, he gets into his car and decides to leave her behind. Somewhere along the icy road, he loses control of his vehicle and perishes. His purgatory is to watch helplessly as Iris slowly succumbs to her illness without him.” That’s the synopsis of Iris’ narrative, courtesy of Altars of Grief’s singer Damian Smith, and if that sounds a bit intense, you’re entirely correct in thinking so. The album has the structural heft to support such thematic ambitions as well, running a respectable 55 minutes through 8 tracks, none of which- save the 2-minute “Epilogue,” so located- run under 6 minutes. The album art is monochrome and haunting, the image of Iris before a church somehow inspiring dread rather than awe, doubtless to some ecclesiastic’s chagrin. The dirge-like intro, replete with strings, clean guitars, and muted cymbal work, is delicate but emphatic in making clear to the listener what the dominant theme is to be start to finish. All of this is to say that there’s nothing left unclear to the listener, from the outset, about what is to be explored: this is an album primarily about mourning …

… which is not to say that it’s a 55-minute funeral march. A major selling point of Iris is not only the stylistic variety that Altars of Grief employs, but the smoothness with which the group transitions between those stylistic motifs. 9-minte opener “Desolation,” following the aforementioned intro, is primarily downtempo and funereal in tone, heavy on strings and clean, readily decipherable vocal work, but by its end begins to risk collapsing under its own weight, if it were to be followed by a similar number. Seemingly in awareness of this, “Isolation” follows with high-speed blasting, aggressive chordal work, and higher-pitched shrieking, rarely letting up by any significant degree throughout; then the title track pulls back into mid-tempo work and a more balanced split between cleans and harsh vocals. The same interplay largely continues as the album works through its narrative, dynamic yet not jarring, and while it does lose momentum for brief periods, particularly in the less effective latter half of “Broken Hymn,” it never stumbles outright. The group thus shows an admirable facility in capitalizing on traditional doom and black metal, while not overplaying its hand in any one stylistic influence, and enjoys the ancillary benefit of Iris, despite its length, being an easy listen.

Easy on the ears, that is. The flow is there, the mix is deep and clear and notably accents the strings, the instruments have clearly defined roles and rarely overplay. Particular kudos should be given to the drum work, which is relatively assertive, particularly with energetic and nimble use of the kick drums. The strings are employed with restraint, generally content to serve in an accenting role (relieving, given how often they’re elsewhere used as a crutch to obscure boring and flaccid performances- I’m looking at you, ABBA Borgir). Execution and technical performance, therefore, is here difficult to fault within those parameters. The other side, however, is that those placing a premium on aggression or abrasiveness may want to look elsewhere. In many ways Iris is “delicate,” for lack of a better term; its black metal influences extend neither to the raw nor the trve nor the kvlt, but mainly to technique- to wit, careful employment of blasting sections and the accompanying tremolo picking. Genre purists will want to look elsewhere, as will anyone uncomfortable with an album whose heft resides in its narrative more than in any other characteristic, and whose cathartic aspect is placed in service of introspection, rather than vice versa.

Thus, like all things Iris is not without fault. However easy it is to experience on a relative scale, it’s still long. It still drags in places, however briefly. But its faults are decidedly minor; even Tommy and The Wall have numbers where my attention flags a little (fight me). After casting about for substantive complaints, I came up quite short. In their absence, what’s left is gloriously produced, confidently executed, self-aware and contemplative, and an exemplar of tragedy as an aesthetic ideal. Altars of Grief may be preoccupied with loss and despair, but Iris is nothing less than a triumph on all fronts. Well done.

Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewed by: Vladamir Poutine
 

Review from Angry Metal Guy

March 31, 2018
From: Angry Metal Guy
Published: March 31, 2018 

In 2004, a close friend of mine lost not one but both of his parents in the Indian Ocean tsunami that claimed nearly a quarter of a million lives. While I hope I will never experience tragedy as dramatic and profound as his, the impact reverberated throughout our small group, and to a comparatively infinitesimal degree, we shared in his loss. Without wanting to cheapen such sorrow, doom metal — particularly in its more extreme iter...

Continue reading...
 

Review from Metal Master Kingdom

March 31, 2018
From: Metal Master Kingdom
Published: March 29, 2018 

Like the cello that hums the introductory notes to “Isolation”—the opening track on Iris, the long awaited full-length sophomore release from Saskatchewan’s blackened doom lords, Altars Of Grief—I am hesitant.  Hesitant to commit words to the virtual page, for fear that they will be wholly inadequate and fail to do justice to the magnificence of Iris.

But, if you are willing to walk with me down a desolate prairie road ...

Continue reading...
 

Review from Metal Injection

March 22, 2018
From: Metal Injection
Published: March 22, 2018 

The question isn’t whether Altars of Grief’s sophomore record is good; it's a question of how good it is. Iris is a nigh-peerless construct of somber beauty and one of the greatest doom metal albums in years. That much is readily apparent after just an initial listen. Where should we begin? Should we discuss how Iris’ magnificent fusion of funeral doom and black metal perfectly complement one another while sounding entirely unl...

Continue reading...
 

Review from Ultraje

March 17, 2018
From: Ultraje
Published: March 16, 2018

Quando a história é tão emotiva quanto a própria música, então está tudo bem encaminhado. Do Canadá, os Altars of Grief apresentam em “Iris” uma ficção que pode ser a realidade de muitas famílias. Iris está afundada em vícios e doença, e nem o próprio pai consegue chegar perto da sua filha. Quando este percebe que nada mais há a fazer, entra no carro e vai embora, despistando-se mortalmente. O resto da história fala-nos d...

Continue reading...
 

Review from Dead Rheteric

March 17, 2018
From: Dead Rheteric
Published: March 15, 2018

What does it truly mean to be ‘heavy?’ Doom metal bands have often given us the proof that heaviness doesn’t have to necessarily link towards anger and frustration. Altars of Grief return with their second album, and the first release since their excellent 2015 split with Nachtterror, to explore the possibility of grief and sorrow being truly the heaviest of all emotions.

Iris is a concept album rooted in some rather weighty materi...

Continue reading...
 

Review from The Sound Not the Word

March 8, 2018
From: The Sound Not the Word
Published: March 7, 2018 

Despite being “only” 55 minutes long, Iris feels much, much longer. The second album from Altars of Grief is a leviathan of blackened, gothic doom, filled with a spirit that is equal parts mournful and furious. Telling the tale of a father who abandons his sick daughter, only to die and be condemned to watch her slowly succumb to illness, it is every bit as bright as the subject matter implies. And yet, there is something c...

Continue reading...
 

Review from Blackened Death Metal Zine

March 3, 2018
From: Blackened Death Metal Zine
Published: March 2, 2018

Altars  Of  Grief  are  a  band  from  Regina,  Saskatchewan  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2018  album  "Iris"  which  will  be  released  on  March  21st  by  Hypnotic  Dirge  Records.

Stringed  instruments  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drum  beats  and  clean  playing  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sect...

Continue reading...
 

Review from Kaje Music

February 10, 2018
From: Kaje Music
Published: February 9, 2018

Altars of Grief are masters of crafting absolutely beautiful blackened doom metal since 2013. The cornerstone of doom metal from the Canadian Prairies, Altars of Grief is preparing to release their second full-length Iris this year on Hypnotic Dirge Records.

With lyrical themes of the well-known struggles of addiction and illness, this album follows the story of a man unable to empathize with his ill daughter Iris. Capitulating to his vic...

Continue reading...
 


 Released: March 21, 2018
500 Copies
Genre: Blackened Doom Metal

ORDER CD
DIGITAL