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Charnel Altar – Demo


Charnel Altar – Demo
January 2019 – Unsigned



Charnel Altar has been on my list for a month, and I assume has caught the eye of both Blood Harvest Records and Dark Descent Records. A thick, heavy slab of a demo, proving once again that the Aussie underground scene easily rivals legends like Florida. With a singer reminiscent of Ethan McCarthy (Primitive Man, Vermin Womb), a guitar tone that could grind stone to dust and melodies evil enough to frighten the devil, Charnel Altar only has to put out a full-length to grow a cult following from the dirty death metal audience.

If you've heard anything put out by Blood Harvest or Dark Descent, you know the one trope of the genre that's left out – blistering speed. Mid-tempo at best, the demo sometimes flirts with death/doom, most notably during Acephalic Worms, a dirge of the damned worthy of being played in death row. The muffled mix reinforces the whole dirty, underground aesthetic – kick drums sound like the feel of being punched in the face, and the riffs might as well have been recorded in the hellish landscape they evoke, while bass slides emphasize the insanity. When there's only so much one can say about composition in such a record, the small details are where it counts.

The people at Resonance Sound Studios, responsible for mastering the demo, are no greenhorns. Having worked for Profound Lore, Dark Descent and Redefining Darkness, they've almost set a path for Charnel Altar, soon to be joining the big boys club – after all, they passed their initiation with flying colours – blood, sweat and tears. The cover art is fitting as well, a lumbering mass of dripping flesh, hanging from bone in the most sickening way.

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