Search - Altar :: In the Name of the Father

ALTAR creates a masterpiece with their 6th album

moleman56 | Orange, VT USA | 04/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"of all the death metal bands available today, ALTAR remains one of my favorites. the cd begins slow, with 'spunk' and 'holy mask' being moderately entertaining songs. 'god damn you' has some nice riffs in it, but still doesn't completely show off the group's skill. songs 4-9 are all amazing, with many organized riffs and vocals. sjoerd visch enters the drumming elite with his performance on this CD, as his double bass-playing is absolutely flawless. bonus tracks 10 and 11 are also good, although 'the trooper' is an iron maiden cover, and the opening riff from 'i am your new provider' is too similar to the riff from arch enemy's 'the immortal'. either way, though, i recommend this cd to anyone who needs fast, heavy, double-bass drumming, and great guitar work. for any fans of drummer sjoerd visch, check out his other bands: "monolith deathcult" and "to elysium". edwin kelder's vocals can also be heard on the new album by "inri". 'in the name of the father' is well worth $..."

One of the best unsung Death/Thrash albums out there

P. Russo | 01/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Take Tom Warrior of Celtic Frost and throw him together with Kerry King and Felix Griffin (DRI) and you get Altar.



Pros: Lots of great riffs and start/stop transitions, windups, shout along choruses and explosive speed. Double bass sounds great as do the guitars (great "angry bees" ala Slayer sound). The vocals are consistent in tone without having 50 different styles in the same song that typify NuMetal crap. Overall, the appeal is more largely emotional than technical but amounts to a wonderfully furious and violent recording.



Cons: Though like most metal albums I'd be embarrassed to sing along as it's the usual satan/rape/murder subject matter. I also don't care for blast beats - thankfully they only last a few bars and for me just serve as transitions to the better thrashy elements. The snare in particular gets lost in these segments. Also in some parts, the toms are recorded too open so they don't quite sound as good as the kicks and the snare do on the more straightforward drives.



In sum, however, this is a great great album with a terrific but slightly spare bonus cover of Maiden's "The Trooper". There are no bad songs on this album and no slow boring bits either. Highly recommended!"