Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory and Injury (2013)^{Release ID: 3834}

Irish post-black metal trio Altar of Plagues have been a really big band in my life ever since I returned to the metal scene after a decade of electronic music indulgence back in 2009. The timing of their debut album “White Tomb” could not have been better & it received quite a few listens from me that year which would subsequently see me venturing back to a couple of the bands early E.P.’s (with admittedly mixed results) shortly afterwards. But it was Altar of Plagues’ 2011 sophomore album “Mammal” that saw the young band truly reaching the top echelon of the black metal spectrum & I still regard it as the finest example of the post-black metal sound I’ve encountered to this day. When the follow-up finally saw the light of day a couple of years later I found it hard to contain my excitement & boy did it deliver!

“Teethed Glory & Injury” is a complex & expansive record that only shows the listener its full array of qualities upon several repeat listens. It sees Altar of Plagues no longer being confined to the shackles of the black metal scene & transcending labels with an outing of pure creativity. In fact, many of the more extreme riffs have very little to do with black metal & one feels that if not for the wonderfully grim vocals of Dave Condon & blast beats of Johnny King that there may not have been much of a link to the most evil & blasphemous of scenes. Some of the more atmospheric & experimental sections draw influence from the post-sludge metal scene, harnessing the splendid production job to great effect.

The album kicks off in stellar fashion with three absolute beauties in the post-rock-inspired opener “Mills” & two spectacular post-black metal monsters in “God Alone” & “A Body Shrouded” before the tracklisting settles a bit over the next couple of songs. Another wonderful highlight appears in the incomparable “Twelve Was Ruin” & at that point I found myself wondering whether I might have a five-star record on my hands. Unfortunately things dip a touch over the remaining three songs but there’s nothing short of four-stars here & the overall result is equally imposing & impressive. “Teethed Glory & Injury” may not quite top its illustrious predecessor but there’s little doubt that it’s the glorious farewell that Altar of Plagues wanted & deserved. The band had never received the credit that was due to them & it was about time the metal world stood up & paid attention. If you’re a fan of bands like Downfall of Gaia, Entropia & Hope Drone then this should be essential listening.

One of the main reasons I love modern black metal is that despite all the cookie-cutter copyists and plagiarists there are still bands that manage to surprise me. I was familiar with Ireland's Altar of Plagues via their 2011 album Mammal, which was a good record but didn't leave any especially lingering memory for me and hadn't really forced it's way into my list of top BM albums. So anyway, now we come to 2013's Teethed Glory and Injury which has most definitely registered itself into my black metal consciousness. I'm not sure I can do the album justice with a review, but I'l have a crack at it. Teethed Glory and Injury is most assuredly a black metal album, in fact more specifically an atmospheric black metal album, but it is also much more than that. Into it's blackened body the band weave various other influences such as industrial metal, atmospheric sludge and post-metal that results in a most progressive sounding record. I have also seen it labelled as avant-garde metal and while I can definitely understand why, I think it is too accessible and coherent to be so tagged.
The cover art seems to perfectly sum up the mood and atmosphere, a desperate and frustrated aura pervades the whole album. This is not the beautifully flowing atmo-black of Saor or Panopticon, this is a jagged, broken affair that doesn't extol the glory of the natural world, but seethes and rages against the world of man, the industrial interjections disturbing the flow of the more natural sounds of the black metal musings to a seemingly intended effect. This isn't the album's only trick though, there are tracks that draw on atmospheric sludge and post-metal to add another layer of despair and isolation. Whereas a lot of atmospheric black metal is airy and expansive, the muddier, sludgy production of this makes for a more claustrophobic and debilitating experience than your average WiiTR clone.
The musicianship is great and I think I must make mention of the depth of the bass tone and the ubiquitousness of Johnny King's drumming that sounds so natural, despite the variety of the tracks. The guitar work and vocals are both suitably intense and the electronics are deployed to devastating effect.
The band split-up after the release of this album and I can understand why. Following this album up would be a thankless task indeed and, after seemingly pouring their hearts and souls into this, meant that as a band they had nowhere else to go. Talk about going on the top of your game!