ALTARAGE- ‘The Approaching Roar’
The statement, “this won’t be for everyone” has rarely, if ever, had a more appropriate use than when talking about the third record from Spanish outfit Altarage. This is acrid, choking smoke made into sound, this is a wall of noise collapsing under its own weight and crushing whatever living thing is closest, this is every dark thought you’ve ever had screamed out loud at the same time. For some it will barely qualify as music, but for a select few it will scratch an itch that is seldom relieved. ‘The Approaching Roar’ lives up to its name for maybe 20 seconds- ominous, bubbling bass notes signalling that something is coming -before an avalanche of belligerent, blackened, thought-blocking metal starts and never really stops. Shifting atmospherics, tectonic rhythms and relentless flamethrower riffs do emerge from the maelstrom but on first listen it’s probably best just to hold on for dear life. This, it seems worth repeating, won’t be for everyone.
