Altar of Betelgeuze – Darkness Sustains the Silence

Finland has a history of  producing a lot of top notch death and doom bands such as Hooded Menace, Reverend Bizarre, Unholy and Skepticism to name but a few. This is Altar of Betelgeuze’s  debut album with only one prior EP release in 2012. The band has mixed the styles of death, doom and stoner quite successfully, perhaps it interrupts the flow of the album at times but it certainly doesn’t detract from its overall quality.  “A World without End” has a solid chugging riff with a growled vocal which compliments the pace of the track and is the band in death doom mode. “Spiral of Decay” continues in this vein although a bit more upbeat with an “Obsessed” feel about it, at the halfway mark a traditional doom metal riff kicks in with a clean vocal. At this point we are looking towards bands like Penance and Stillborn, great groove and and altogether wider appeal. “Smouldering Clouds above Orion” wades through all moods, slow, heavy, clean and melodious, before bringing the double kicks and a menacing atmosphere to finish of the song. The title track is a monstrous 17 minutes long and incorporates thrash into the middle section and reintroduces the elements from the rest of the album. It is an ambitious track and takes a few listens to fully appreciate its construction. For a debut album it is a good starting point, if the mix of the styles can be brought together a bit more coherently they really are onto a winning formula. The mix of growled and clean vocals works well. The production and playing is spot on, however I would like to hear a touch more bottom end in those guitars.

Track Listing

1. Epitaph
2. A World without End
3. The Spiral of Decay
4. Steamroller
5. Smoldering Clouds above Orion
6. The Approaching Storm
7. Out of Control
8. Darkness Sustains the Silence

Band Members

 Juho Kareoja – Guitars

Matias Nastolin – Vocals, Bass

Olli Suumunne – Vocals, Guitars

Alesksi Olkkola – Drums