Altar of Plagues
| Altar of Plagues | |
|---|---|
 James Kelly 2013 at the Wave-Gotik-Treffen |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Ireland , Cork |
| Genre (s) | Blackgaze |
| founding | 2006 |
| resolution | 2013 |
| Founding members | |
| James "Kelly" O'Ceallaigh | |
| Last occupation | |
Vocals, guitar, keyboard |
James "Kelly" O'Ceallaigh |
Bass, vocals |
Dave Condon |
Drums |
Johnny King |
Altar of Plagues ( English for "Altar of Plagues") was an Irish Blackgaze band, which was founded in 2006 in Cork by James "Kelly" O'Ceallaigh and existed until 2013.
history
Altar of Plagues was created in 2006 in James "Kelly" O'Ceallaigh's bedroom. The band released their first demo EP under the title First Plague at the end of the same year . The band, openly referring to Wolves in the Throne Room , took on an independent role in post-black metal from the start and was compared to Ved Buen's end at the beginning of their career . Until the release of the debut album White Tomb , the band varied their style and went through constant line-up changes, so that O 'Ceallaigh White Tomb recorded alone.
In the following year Altar of Plagues toured internationally and changed the line-up again until the release of the album Mammal on April 25, 2011. Mammal received high international recognition, including Mammal at number 18, of the 40 best albums of 2011 by the Internet magazine Pitchfork Media chosen.
The band announced on June 15, 2013 that it would break up in October of the same year and ended their career with a performance at the Unsound Festival in Poland. The decision to break up the band had been made before the recording of the last album Teethed Glory and Injury . The period between the announcement of the dissolution and the date set as the end should give the fans of the band the opportunity to finally experience them live.
style
The style of the band corresponds to the Blackgaze during most of the releases . Altar of Plagues "crosses Black Metal and Postrock ". In contrast to Black Metal, the sound is described as "warm" and "clean". The vocals, on the other hand, are described in the tradition of Black Metal as intense and haunting hoarse screaming . The pieces usually build up over a longer period of time, so that many of the band's titles are well over 10 minutes in length. In the pieces there is usually a slow change between loud and quiet as well as calm and eruptive passages.
However, with the latest release, Teethed Glory and Injury , Altar of Plagues changed their style. The album "aims more than ever in an experimental direction, tries out various [and] almost abstract song structures".
Content and band name
The band follows a continuous concept, which is also based on the band name. James O'Ceallaigh describes Altar of Plagues as a "collective of individuals [...] who create and offer 'dark' music as a kind of outlet." Meanwhile, the band name and the lyrics refer to ecological and social aspects. The name was chosen by him in this context to use an associative metaphor , "since the altar of plagues is the earth."
“Our view of the world is very much shaped by the turmoil the earth is going through. We have never made a deliberate decision to address this topic or to incorporate it into our music, but I believe that one would have to live under a rock to ignore the current world situation. "
Discography
- 2006: First Plague ( demo , self-distribution)
- 2007: Through the Cracks of the Earth ( EP , self-distribution)
- 2008: Sol (EP, self-distribution)
- 2009: White Tomb ( Album , Profound Lore Records )
- 2010: Tides (EP, Burning World Records )
- 2011: Mammal (Album, Candlelight Records / Profound Lore Records)
- 2012: Year of No Light / Altar of Plagues ( Split- EP, Musicfearsatan )
- 2013: Teethed Glory and Injury (Album, Profound Lore Records)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Robert Pasbani: . Altar of Plagues Break up metal injection, accessed on May 16, 2014 .
- ↑ Altar of Plagues: White Tomb. Liner notes
- ↑ Earl Gray: Altar of Plagues - First Plague. Metal Ireland, accessed May 16, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c d James O'Ceallaigh from Altar of Plagues. Metal News, accessed May 16, 2014 .
- ^ A b Jan Wischkowski: Mammal. Metal.de, accessed on May 16, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c Andreas Schulz: Mammal. Musikreviews.de, accessed on May 16, 2014 .
- ^ Johnathan A. Carbon: Mammal. Retrieved May 16, 2014 .
- ↑ Brandon Stosuy: The Top 40 Metal Albums of 2011. Pitchfork Media, archived from the original on March 21, 2013 ; accessed on May 16, 2014 .
- ↑ Jan Wischkowski: Teethed Glory and Injury. Metal.de, accessed on May 19, 2014 .