J-Man While a lot of doom metal acts these days have either harsh vocals, sludgy riffs, or a gothic edge, there are still bands out there interested in reliving the glory days of epic doom metal. Denmark's Altar of Oblivion is one such band, and their clear influence from acts like Candlemass, Solitude Aeternus, and Black Sabbath is likely to satisfy fans of straight-up doom without any modern gimmicks. The band's second album, Grand Gesture of Defiance, should greatly appeal to fans of seventies' and eighties' metal; whilst it may not be the most groundbreaking album you'll hear this year, the solid musicianship and epic compositions make this an enjoyable listen from start to finish.

As previously mentioned, most of Grand Gesture of Defiance's sound rests in pretty traditional epic doom metal. Bands like Candlemass, St. Vitus, Solitude Aeternus, and Black Sabbath are obvious points of reference, but Altar of Oblivion also has a traditional metal edge (think Judas Priest) to keep things from getting slow and monotonous. Some of the melodies are also clearly influenced by Scandinavian folk music, which shouldn't come as a huge surprise considering the band's Danish heritage. Epic tracks like "In the Shadow of the Gallows" and "Final Perfection" are fine examples of old school doom metal done right, and I think Altar of Oblivion is a group of some really solid composers and musicians. Mik Mentor's vocals have an operatic, funeral dirge-type infliction that will likely bring the iconic Ozzy Osbourne to mind - not a bad thing at all when we're talking about a doom metal record, and the rest of the band also delivers solid performances. Those melodic guitar solos are especially noteworthy - there are a lot of tasty leads to be found here!

Grand Gesture of Defiance is a respectable effort across the board; Altar of Oblivion exhibits a clear artistic purpose on this observation, the production is raw and powerful, the musicianship is great, and the compositions are solid. If I do have one minor complaint, it's that this album is short - at only 34 minutes, this is a bit skimpy for a full-length release, although the quality of the music is high from start to finish. Folks who are only casual fans of epic doom metal won't be converted by Grand Gesture of Defiance, but those looking to relive doom metal's glory days certainly can't go wrong with this one.

Time Signature Wrapped in ruins...

Genre: doom metal / traditional metal

Altar of Oblivion combine traditional metal and doom metal on this release, and, while being more inclined towards the doomier side, they are not afraid to use more uptempo sections and melodies which even sound uplifting at times.

Musically, this release falls under the rubric of epic doom metal and finds itself in the company of acts like Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus. While not reaching the same level of epic brilliance as the two legendary acts within the genre, I still think that "Sinews of Anguish" is a pretty good album - and one which has a certain degree of originality to it, too.

Like Candlemass and fellow doom metal legends count Raven but unlike Solutude Aeturnus, the music of Altar of Oblivion on this release - while epic sounding to some degree - never really becomes very technical or complex, but it is still very expressive, I think, and the songs themselves are still interesting in composition.

One of the main factors in the uniqueness and originality of this release is the vocals, which have a quasi-operatic feel to them and are delivered n a fashion which is surely an acquired taste that takes some getting used to. After a couple of listens, I must say that I quite like the vocals on this release, and they suit the atmosphere quite well.

It should be mentioned that the production is a bit fuzzy - or 'ulden' to use an expression from the band's own native language - which detracts from the epic feel of the album, but at the same time, I think it adds a certain rock 'n' roll edge, which I do not mind.

Fans of Candlemass and Count Raven might enjoy this release.

UMUR "Sinews of Anguish" (the full title is "Sinews of Anguish - Opus 1 in D-Minor") is the debut full-length studio album by Danish doom/heavy metal act Altar of Oblivion. The album was released through Shadow Kingdom Records in May 2009.

The music featured on the album is a combination of traditional doom metal and eighties influenced heavy metal (despite the sinister looking cover artwork, this has got nothing to do with doom/death, blackened doom metal or any other extreme form of doom). The two artists that predominantly come to mind are Black Sabbath and Candlemass. The latter not only because of how the instrumental part of the music sounds but also because of the semi-operatic vocal delivery by lead vocalist Mik Mentor. The album features a concept story, which is about a German Soldier and his struggles at the east front during World War II. The concept works well and enhances the already gloomy atmosphere of the album. "Sinews of Anguish" is an almost hour long album and the 8 tracks on the album are all pretty long (between 5 and 11 minutes long). There´s a nice development in most tracks though, and as a result my attention seldom wanders. In addtion to guitars, bass and drums there are also some atmosphere enhancing keyboards on the album, which is a great feature that provide the album with some variation. The vocals are pretty unique, which in my book is almost always a good thing, but in this particular case they are pretty surely an aquired taste. Personally I find them a bit too pompous.

The sound production is pretty raw and there´s a kind of professional demo quality to the sound. That description of the sound is probably a bit too harsh but there´s something about the sound that doesn´t qualify as being fully professional. Upon conclusion "Sinews of Anguish" is still a pretty good quality doom metal album with a rather unique sound due to the vocals. The music isn´t terribly original, but the musicianship is relatively strong, the songwriting is decent and the lyrical concept works well. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.