Review by JD on October 11, 2010.

Australia is a place that metal is alive and kickin’, yet it is so much different than the rest of the world. I believe that this country might be the next nexus point for metal, where the newest thing will explode out of and reign supreme. I love many of the acts from there, and this one is no exception. The name is Raven Black Night.

I was shocked as the CD began. It was as if Black Sabbath and Candlemass have had a bastard child and it was recording in a studio somewhere ‘down under’. These are two of my all time major influences, both in writing wise and playing and it was glorious for me to hear. The singer sounded almost exactly like Messiah Marcolin did (Candlemass) and the music was a pure concoction of Sabbath sludge and the ‘Mass boys droning power. It was cheesy imitation I admit but I got the impression that was what they were going for.

I normally hate people who build a career around sounding like someone more famous than themselves yet in this instance, I really don’t mind. The guitars are so melodic yet heavy as lead and the bass thunders out at you. I was in pure metal heaven. Songs like the spacey yet heavy ‘My Love Is Holy’ and the epic ‘Blood On My Wings’ are just amazing. They may be just paying respects to their heros, as they do sound a lot like the bands I had mentioned but who cares?

It is true that they are playing like Black Sabbath and Candlemass but they are not ‘ripping them off’ either. This is the only time I have condoned acceptable imitation of anyone but it has been done only for fun and reverence. The band does not try to pass themselves off as anything but making a little music like their heros and having a grand ol’ time while doing it. I have a word for a band that does this out of the pure love of it- Respect! It may be the only exception I ever do when someone plays like this.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 6
Overall: 9

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Chris Pratl on January 15, 2019.

These guys from Denmark impressed really me when I first got a hold of their demo, The Shadow Era, a couple of years back. Since then it's been a sort of twisted love affair with the brand of doom that borders on epic sounding, though I'm not so sure that's a fair tag here. What is epic anymore, anyway? Selected fancy syntax aside, the newest full-length from Altar of Oblivion is called Grand Gesture of Defiance and it delivers a heavy-handed slap to the face. As with any good doom, you don't feel the sting right off, but you know you've been hit.

While not so much Black Sabbath or Candlemass, Altar of Oblivion taps the down-tempo keg with a strong strain of stoner-like traditional metal tunes that are as engrossing as anything you may have heard and then some. Vocalist Mik Mentor has a voice that powers perfectly over the heavy chords of “Where Darkness is Light”, but the real treat comes with his brief solo intro in “The Graveyard of Broken Dreams”, which causes you to pay even closer attention to the band's messages within half-hour-plus of music. This track lays down the drop-tune chords in such a prime fashion that it's difficult not to become entranced by the subtle keys cascading over the musical waves like a cunning and pregnant steam pocket - it's perfect! 

While the beauty of that little foray into airy ardor slowly wears off, the underlying message of AoO rears its head in the guitar-driven “In the Shadow of the Gallows”, a virtual death-dance with everything that can possibly be both morose and uplifting in the span of a 12-bar blues progression. While I know I must be feeling something close to melancholy due to Mentor's tonal command, I am strangely uplifted as the music just energizes my senses like no other doom in recent memory. The wondrous “The Smoke-Filled Room” starts off so serenely and without pretense or poisoned passion that I closed my eyes and found a quiet center so peaceful and fulfilling that I could hardly believe my ears at this early hour of the morning; the ease of the arrangement and that wholly legitimate opening that called upon early Opeth and some Dreaming Neon Black-era Nevermore was so terrific that I hit the 'back' button a few times after my first initial listen through (It is an homage perfectly timed to end before base tribute became stale infringement). “Sentenced in Abesntia” leaves traditional doom briefly behind and goes for the traditional 'heavy metal' sound with solemn moments of audio destitution, and it's all carried to a capital “T” in the lungs of Mentor, a vocalist that more people should be discussing at length. When the CD reaches its climax with “Final Perfection” I feel a sense of loss and, interestingly enough, strength within such an otherwise sorrowed track. Mentor's impassioned effort here is the very stuff legendary singers are made of, and you should hear it and decide for yourself. In this writer's opinion it was the perfect ending to a terrific album. 

Altar of Oblivion is one of those bands that you might accept as terrific and with open arms, all the while hoping it's not some random fluke that the band is that saturated with ideas and great chord assemblies. After 35-minutes of a literal spinning room of emotional breaks and currents throughout the collective, and a growing discography of similar greatness, there's no doubt that the love is properly placed.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)

Review by JD on December 7, 2012.

From the time I first heard the mighty Black Sabbath I fell in love with the slow dirge and massively heavy music that has shaped my life and made me who I am today. Doom has been my favorite style of metal, and my choice for playing in the various bands I have been in. One of the biggest breaths of fresh air I have heard in a long times comes out of Denmark, and has impacted me just like that certain self titled masterpiece from the godfathers of metal did when I was just twelve. It blew my mind.

Altar Of Oblivion plays grand and sweeping Euro-styled Doom Metal, with added American Doom influences. Think sort of in terms of newer Candlemass with St.Vitus textures... epic would been the word to use here. With heavy slow riffs, biting solos and a vocalist that sounds like a darkened Rob Halford mixed in with Messiah Marcolin... this whole album is interesting as hell.

The whole album just screams out to me, as it pulled me in to get lost in its heavy laments of bone crunching riffs that blare out, not to mention the acidic solos that seem to reach out and grab me. Each track is slowed to perfection, heavied up just right and released - but one track stands alone proudly. 'In The Shadows Of The Gallows' is a amazing seven minutes and eighteen seconds of the most amazing Doom and showcases one of the best at doing this grand style of metal.

Buy this album now!!! I hate to be like some sterotype writer, but I think that every metaller need to own this album. Doom fanatics especially will go totally ape with this album, but also I think any headbanger would appreciate this remarkable slab of work. So like I said - go out and buy this album before even opening the next beer.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:10
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 9.5
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on October 14, 2024.

Next year “Bloodline” celebrates its 20th anniversary. That’s remarkable because the songs were already recorded and mixed in 1997 / 1998. But sometimes good things take time and “Bloodline” is definitely a good thing. One can say that it is just another Svartsyn album, but this is exactly the explanation for its strength. The usual approach of mastermind Ornias is filled to the brim with enjoyable aspects. Let me go deeper into the details for the poor ones who are not familiar with his project.

First of all – and one can consider this as an ambivalent fact – the single songs follow the same approach. If we ignore the short outro on the ninth position, there are no significant differences in speed or structure, in vehemence or atmosphere. It is possible that I already wrote it in a previous review for one of his albums, but Ornias always enjoys taking us on a long walk through the darkest Swedish forests, where the crowns of the closely spaced trees barely let a ray of light through. His guitar lines lead the songs and give them a direction, no doubt about it, but it is never an obvious route they take. They prefer to move slowly forward in a circular motion. Among other things, this means that you will not find any truly catchy sections here. But don't worry, there is a wonderful compensation for this (supposed) shortcoming. While “Bloodline” progresses unceasingly, it creates an almost fathomless depth.

Ornias’ vocals do not add new colors to the genre. His demonic nagging is fully aligned with the unwritten laws of black metal. Furthermore, the production is also a typical one for the genre (and for this project). Its pretty blurred sound is one more confusing building block which makes it a bit difficult to find orientation on “Bloodline”. The bass guitar has nothing to say, the drums have a tough time against the guitars and even the voice is not on a par with them. This may sound deficient, but it pays tribute to Ornias' world of sound and thought in the best possible way. Moreover, this production leaves no doubt about the quality of Svartsyn’s guitar lines – most of them are simply excellent and therefore “Bloodline” is among the best albums (or maybe even the best one) of the band. I guess it is okay to use the word “band”, because the booklet features two further guys, Kolgrim and Draugea, even though I guess their contribution was as meaningless as one of the two dudes who were shown as Quorthon’s (R.I.P.) sidekicks on “Blood Fire Death”.

Despite the blurred mix and the nested, pretty complex guitar lines, the songs do not lack dynamic. Already the opener and the immediately following title track can rely on this element. These songs aren’t better than the other ones, but this is precisely their strength: on the one hand, they leave a massive impact, on the other hand, they do not promise too much. The looping riffing of “Vampyric Sleep” is just as inspiring as his short part with atmospheric keyboards – and the following tracks also do not disappoint in any way due to their compactness, bitterness, and grimness. The only dubious tracks appear in the so-called bonus section. They are probably actually good, but a deaf guy or a Neanderthal man was responsible for the sound. Anyway, the regular album itself is highly recommendable. And I admit I am jealous of “Bloodline”. As mentioned at the beginning, its 20th birthday is yet to come, and I am older than the oldest metal album. Shit.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Chris Pratl on January 15, 2019.

These guys from Denmark impressed really me when I first got a hold of their demo, The Shadow Era, a couple of years back. Since then it's been a sort of twisted love affair with the brand of doom that borders on epic sounding, though I'm not so sure that's a fair tag here. What is epic anymore, anyway? Selected fancy syntax aside, the newest full-length from Altar of Oblivion is called Grand Gesture of Defiance and it delivers a heavy-handed slap to the face. As with any good doom, you don't feel the sting right off, but you know you've been hit.

While not so much Black Sabbath or Candlemass, Altar of Oblivion taps the down-tempo keg with a strong strain of stoner-like traditional metal tunes that are as engrossing as anything you may have heard and then some. Vocalist Mik Mentor has a voice that powers perfectly over the heavy chords of “Where Darkness is Light”, but the real treat comes with his brief solo intro in “The Graveyard of Broken Dreams”, which causes you to pay even closer attention to the band's messages within half-hour-plus of music. This track lays down the drop-tune chords in such a prime fashion that it's difficult not to become entranced by the subtle keys cascading over the musical waves like a cunning and pregnant steam pocket - it's perfect! 

While the beauty of that little foray into airy ardor slowly wears off, the underlying message of AoO rears its head in the guitar-driven “In the Shadow of the Gallows”, a virtual death-dance with everything that can possibly be both morose and uplifting in the span of a 12-bar blues progression. While I know I must be feeling something close to melancholy due to Mentor's tonal command, I am strangely uplifted as the music just energizes my senses like no other doom in recent memory. The wondrous “The Smoke-Filled Room” starts off so serenely and without pretense or poisoned passion that I closed my eyes and found a quiet center so peaceful and fulfilling that I could hardly believe my ears at this early hour of the morning; the ease of the arrangement and that wholly legitimate opening that called upon early Opeth and some Dreaming Neon Black-era Nevermore was so terrific that I hit the 'back' button a few times after my first initial listen through (It is an homage perfectly timed to end before base tribute became stale infringement). “Sentenced in Abesntia” leaves traditional doom briefly behind and goes for the traditional 'heavy metal' sound with solemn moments of audio destitution, and it's all carried to a capital “T” in the lungs of Mentor, a vocalist that more people should be discussing at length. When the CD reaches its climax with “Final Perfection” I feel a sense of loss and, interestingly enough, strength within such an otherwise sorrowed track. Mentor's impassioned effort here is the very stuff legendary singers are made of, and you should hear it and decide for yourself. In this writer's opinion it was the perfect ending to a terrific album. 

Altar of Oblivion is one of those bands that you might accept as terrific and with open arms, all the while hoping it's not some random fluke that the band is that saturated with ideas and great chord assemblies. After 35-minutes of a literal spinning room of emotional breaks and currents throughout the collective, and a growing discography of similar greatness, there's no doubt that the love is properly placed.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

(Originally written for www.metalpsalter.com)

Review by JD on December 7, 2012.

From the time I first heard the mighty Black Sabbath I fell in love with the slow dirge and massively heavy music that has shaped my life and made me who I am today. Doom has been my favorite style of metal, and my choice for playing in the various bands I have been in. One of the biggest breaths of fresh air I have heard in a long times comes out of Denmark, and has impacted me just like that certain self titled masterpiece from the godfathers of metal did when I was just twelve. It blew my mind.

Altar Of Oblivion plays grand and sweeping Euro-styled Doom Metal, with added American Doom influences. Think sort of in terms of newer Candlemass with St.Vitus textures... epic would been the word to use here. With heavy slow riffs, biting solos and a vocalist that sounds like a darkened Rob Halford mixed in with Messiah Marcolin... this whole album is interesting as hell.

The whole album just screams out to me, as it pulled me in to get lost in its heavy laments of bone crunching riffs that blare out, not to mention the acidic solos that seem to reach out and grab me. Each track is slowed to perfection, heavied up just right and released - but one track stands alone proudly. 'In The Shadows Of The Gallows' is a amazing seven minutes and eighteen seconds of the most amazing Doom and showcases one of the best at doing this grand style of metal.

Buy this album now!!! I hate to be like some sterotype writer, but I think that every metaller need to own this album. Doom fanatics especially will go totally ape with this album, but also I think any headbanger would appreciate this remarkable slab of work. So like I said - go out and buy this album before even opening the next beer.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship:10
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality: 9.5
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on October 14, 2024.

Next year “Bloodline” celebrates its 20th anniversary. That’s remarkable because the songs were already recorded and mixed in 1997 / 1998. But sometimes good things take time and “Bloodline” is definitely a good thing. One can say that it is just another Svartsyn album, but this is exactly the explanation for its strength. The usual approach of mastermind Ornias is filled to the brim with enjoyable aspects. Let me go deeper into the details for the poor ones who are not familiar with his project.

First of all – and one can consider this as an ambivalent fact – the single songs follow the same approach. If we ignore the short outro on the ninth position, there are no significant differences in speed or structure, in vehemence or atmosphere. It is possible that I already wrote it in a previous review for one of his albums, but Ornias always enjoys taking us on a long walk through the darkest Swedish forests, where the crowns of the closely spaced trees barely let a ray of light through. His guitar lines lead the songs and give them a direction, no doubt about it, but it is never an obvious route they take. They prefer to move slowly forward in a circular motion. Among other things, this means that you will not find any truly catchy sections here. But don't worry, there is a wonderful compensation for this (supposed) shortcoming. While “Bloodline” progresses unceasingly, it creates an almost fathomless depth.

Ornias’ vocals do not add new colors to the genre. His demonic nagging is fully aligned with the unwritten laws of black metal. Furthermore, the production is also a typical one for the genre (and for this project). Its pretty blurred sound is one more confusing building block which makes it a bit difficult to find orientation on “Bloodline”. The bass guitar has nothing to say, the drums have a tough time against the guitars and even the voice is not on a par with them. This may sound deficient, but it pays tribute to Ornias' world of sound and thought in the best possible way. Moreover, this production leaves no doubt about the quality of Svartsyn’s guitar lines – most of them are simply excellent and therefore “Bloodline” is among the best albums (or maybe even the best one) of the band. I guess it is okay to use the word “band”, because the booklet features two further guys, Kolgrim and Draugea, even though I guess their contribution was as meaningless as one of the two dudes who were shown as Quorthon’s (R.I.P.) sidekicks on “Blood Fire Death”.

Despite the blurred mix and the nested, pretty complex guitar lines, the songs do not lack dynamic. Already the opener and the immediately following title track can rely on this element. These songs aren’t better than the other ones, but this is precisely their strength: on the one hand, they leave a massive impact, on the other hand, they do not promise too much. The looping riffing of “Vampyric Sleep” is just as inspiring as his short part with atmospheric keyboards – and the following tracks also do not disappoint in any way due to their compactness, bitterness, and grimness. The only dubious tracks appear in the so-called bonus section. They are probably actually good, but a deaf guy or a Neanderthal man was responsible for the sound. Anyway, the regular album itself is highly recommendable. And I admit I am jealous of “Bloodline”. As mentioned at the beginning, its 20th birthday is yet to come, and I am older than the oldest metal album. Shit.

Rating: 8.4 out of 10