Death metal long has existed in the foulest, most violent regions of existence and in our psyches, letting us imagine and even fear the most horrific things imaginable. It’s a music form that wasn’t designed for the faint of heart, as its origins were for those who could handle the most extreme of circumstances, and there are many bands upholding that bloods, devious tradition.

Altar of Gore, a project helmed by vocalist/multi-instrumentalist the Acolyte of the Foul Ones, digs into the bloodiest of the death metal terrain, forcing listeners to withstand a psychologically torturous experience that makes you pay the price. Their second record “Litanies of the Unceasing Agonies” is a seven-track, 37-miniute pounder that follows up 2020’s “Obscure and Obscene Gods” and increase the levels of gore and violence that bombards you from the beginning and ravages you until the end. By the way, guitarist Joe Aversario also is a part of this carnage, handling some of the guitar leads and adding even more scorch to this already ravaging fire.

“Introduction” is a quick, burly introduction that unloads an appetizer of mauling death that brawls right into “Excoriation Prayers” that bludgeons right away. The growls pound as mean and nasty blows accompany steaming guitars, the drums battering away. Vicious wails waylay as cavernous violence has its way, smashing until the final drops of blood are squeezed from veins. “Infinite Visions of Violence” rips and batters, guttural growls going through your midsection, guitars scorching amid the panic. Hissed howls threaten danger, the brutality getting ugly and out of hand, violent hell dragging you over the coals. “Destined for the Pit” is bruising and ominous, plastering with metallic gore, unloading as the drums destroy. The growls bury as the pace gets deadlier, pummeling with abrasive blows, hurtling toward the bitter end.

“Carrion Womb” trudges as the guitars grind, drilling with precision as the vocals go for the throat. The mud then thickens as the crushing force becomes too much to take, ugliness ripping everything apart, mauling growls jabbing the blade. “Blood for Blood (Flesh for Flesh)” has a smashing pace, flattening as the leads sting, chewing through muscle and bone. The tempo hulks with impenetrable weight, the guitars surging as the atmosphere boils, turning everything to dust. “Litanies of the Unceasing Agonies” closes the record, and the bass tramples, the drums decimate, and growls lurch. The atmosphere gets filthier and more muscular, the guitars searching graves, the pressure mounts, and the violent, beastly torment drills into the crust of the earth.

The devastating, devious energies found on “Litanies of the Unceasing Agonies” are hard to shake as they dig into your flesh and pull your muscles through your pores. Altar of Gore continue to put a horrific grip on the ugliness of heavy metal and what is possible when it comes to psychological torment meted out by the darkest of the arts. This is a ferocious, unforgiving record, that refuses to release its pressure until you’ve fully faded away.  

For more on the band, go here: https://altarofgore.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://namelessgraverecords.com/collections/nameless-grave-records-releases

For more on the label, go here: https://namelessgraverecords.com/