Formed over a decade ago in Edinburgh, Scotland, Iron Altar have been carving out their own, distinct place in the vibrant UK underground ever since. Announcing themselves with a self-titled EP in 2016 and an independently released debut album, Pillars Of Blood in 2018, the band then took huge strides with 2023s Promethean album, which Moshville Times declared would “have the hairs on your neck standing on end”. And taking huge strides now seems to be Iron Altar’s stock in trade, as they prepare to unveil an album that looks set to lift the band to a whole new level. This is an album that speaks in a language that is Iron Altar’s own. It brings together their elements of blackened hardcore, abrasive sludge, unfettered expression, contemporary extremity and timeless intensity like never before. Welcome to From The Bones Of The Earth…
Tightly wound and fiercely focussed riffs introduce From The Bones Of The Earth’s opening track, ‘Groundswell’, propelled by pounding beats and an immense vocal presence combining rage, control, passion and defiance – and from that beginning the song blossoms, opens itself and begins a process of endless transformation. Multiple personalities emerge, dominate and slip back into darkness…jagged, flickering riffs collapsing into passages of desolate reflection. This is the true nature of From The Bones Of The Earth; unsettled and rife with a nervous energy. You need to climb inside the entity that is Iron Altar, immerse yourself in it, accept its logic and perceptions and then every shudder and intuitive leap makes perfect sense. From the ragged nobility, tainted melodies and breathless blasts of ‘Disintegration’ to the stuttering, staggering, discordant madness of Psychosis. Through the unnerving quiet of ‘Wastelands’, rent asunder by the teeth of feral riffs then carried aloft upon the Atlas-like shoulders of a towering vocal performance, on to the awe-inspiring and revelatory ‘Vulture’…each song here works perfectly as an isolated thought, yet they are unquestionably part of a flowing whole, all leading to the tortured end of ‘Fallen’ – a song that grips you, shakes you and, finally, collapses into the detritus of a broken world and crawls to a tortured end. Iron Altar have imbued From The Bones Of The Earth with a natural, organic feel, a sense of creative ideas unfolding and following their own path – a spontaneity of structure that makes every listen a vibrant, challenging and rewarding experience.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Joe Clayton (Ba’al, Conjurer, Aggressive Perfector etc) at No Studio in Manchester, From The Bones Of The Earth has been blessed with a superb sound – bringing out the crisp, textured strength of the guitars, the richness of the interlocking sonic layers and igniting the inherent propulsive energy. Setting the perfect seal on this remarkable work is the cover art of James Kerr – aka Slug Draws – which captures the anguished ruin within in striking fashion. From The Bones Of The Earth will be unleashed by Road To Masochist on January 29th – a bleakly brilliant beginning to another year of inevitable decay.
Line up:
Andrew Callis – Vocals
Neil Mathers – Guitar/Vocals
Evelyn Poustie – Guitar
Greg Armstrong – Bass
Linz Mackenzie Conway – Drums
Genre: Blackened Hardcore / Progressive Sludge Metal
For fans of: Downfall Of Gaia | Conan | Oathbreaker | Voivod
Further information:
https://www.facebook.com/ironaltarmetal
https://www.instagram.com/ironaltarmetal
https://ironaltar.bandcamp.com/music
https://roadtomasochist.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/roadtomascochist
https://www.youtube.com/@RoadToMasochist
https://roadtomasochist.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.instagram.com/road_to_masochist/
