Thou/Altar of Plagues - Cork Independent News

Home

Sections

Entertainment

Thou/Altar of Plagues

Written by Staff Reporter

Thursday, 25 June 2009

The Midsummer festival brought a myriad of family friendly entertainment to our doorsteps and the Marquee series has attempted to appeal to a cross selection of music fans, both old and young alike. We've even had some summer sun thrown into the mix, and so without wanting to sound like a goddamn McDonalds euro saver advert, I'd have to say all in all we've had it pretty good of late. But it's not all sunshine, lollypops and ice-cream you know. Over at Cyprus Avenue something is festering.

Something ominous and decrepit, something all encompassing, something foul and tortured, something that's threatening to obscure the beaming rays of sunlight, casting us headfirst into a squalid pit of ever-lasting doom and bleak depravity.

Well thank f**k for that then. So lets fade to black (metal), raise two fingers (the pinky and the index should you need directions), salute these harbingers of doom and welcome them to this mortal coil of ours. The event in question, which takes place on Wednesday, July 1, is something of a quadruple threat with the mighty Southern Lord heavyweights Thou and Cork's own progressive (and provocative) black metal messiahs Altar of Plagues heading up proceedings.

Disciples of all things sluggish, thuggish and extreme will surely worship at the alter of Thou, a New Orleans outfit that crawls across the realms of slow-motion doom, drone and expansive post rock. The group, who can be likened to doom stalwarts Khanate and Burning Witch, having spent the last five years playing every arena and basement in the USA including tours with SunnO))) and Pelican, are making their first visit to Europe.

Cork group Altar of Plagues may not take up as many column inches as other better known Irish acts, due in no small part to their uncompromising nature and far-fetching avant-garde take on heavy music, but make no mistake, their achievements and finely honed skills have been noticed by their peers not only here, but on the international stage. Signed to the influential Profound Lore imprint on the back of some stunningly grim demo's, AOP this year released their White Tomb opus. This sprawling and richly layered ode to all things celestial and black metal has earned rave reviews from many leading critics in the metal and hard rock press. Segueing from atmospheric passages of calm, restrained drones and flourishing post-rock beauty to unrelenting blast-beats and an cavalcade of furious and tar-thick guitar noise, AOP could be most likened to Wolves in the Throne, but within their lengthy compositions there is more then enough to suggest that this Cork group will only continue to push the accepted boundaries of their art.

And as if Thou and AOP wasn't enough, there is reigning monarch of Cork's avant-garde scene, the effusive, engaging and continuously mesmerizing Wolflinge, as well as This Weary Hour, relative newcomers putting their spin on the kind of noise dished up by post-metal behemoths Neurosis and Isis.

Comments (0) »