I love records that draw you in with the cover art alone. The surrealist, almost brutalist art of Among The Ruins is a great example of this. The Finnish Altars Of Betelgeuze outline their entire aesthetic with what amounts to little more than a charcoal sketch, it's stripped down and dominated by darkness but also strangely elegant, it is the struggle of man as he finds himself in a world of concepts and creations far greater than he is fit to understand, it is Among The Ruins. Fortunately, the music matches these high falutin' notions, powerful stoner doom that roars out with crushing growls, soaring cleans and some top notch melody lines. In a world where doom metal far too often just relies on a massive bottom end, Altars Of Betelgeuze are not afraid to temper this with deeply emotional melodic content. While they certainly aim for the best of both worlds you get the sense that the band hasn't quite found what they are looking for.
One of the things that really shocks me about Altars Of Betelgeuze is how much raw talent there is in this band. The incredible clean vocals on "Sledge Of Stones" are not at all what you'd expect from the more funeral doom leaning opener, "The Offering". With the second track the band move from being a melody friendly stoner band to a group who balance elements of groups like The Obsessed with an almost Pallbearer-esque aesthetic. And while it's certainly obvious that both of these tracks are done by the same band it also immediately makes you aware of how much they are capable of. While I certainly prefer the clean vocalled parts I wouldn't be surprised to find peers who feel the opposite. I think though, that in trying to be everything, Altars Of Betelgeuze miss out on transcendence. While I'm certainly a fan of variety, I have to wonder what this band would be like if they could make their general approach a little more coherent, especially from a vocal perspective. That being said, the songwriting is definitely getting there, the way that they crush forward and the power of their lines is obvious, a testament to all of their hard work.
So we sit here with a band attempting to fuse death metal with top notch stoner doom and it leaves you wondering what they could truly be. While some tracks on this record certainly prove the band capable of such a fusion I'm curious to see what direction they end up taking their prodigious talents. Getting lost in the pummeling loop of their sound and the stunning drama of their instrumental passages is a lot of fun, as is vibing out when the vocals really hit a groove. Like I said though – these guys have a ways to go before they can become lords of the genre. It's frustrating though because they are clearly incredibly talented and on the verge of great things. I'm curious to hear how they develop because if this what they are able to produce on only their second record they are certainly capable of pushing the envelope much further.
Score: 7/10
