It’s one thing to be frustrated with the very task of being a human every day. It’s another to be able to interpret that with violent precision in your art, leaving no doubt where your mind frame is while dealing with our surroundings. That’s what Spanish death metal power Altarage does with devastating results on seventh album “Cogwheel.”

Just from the title, the monotony of living in constant horrors that never seem to relent twist your brain, and then taking on these seven tracks that pummel for nearly 75 minutes doubles down on the pain. The band—vocalist/guitarist Javier Gálvez, bassist Mikel Glez, drummer Phlegeton—focuses on crumbling societies and constantly living life as a cog only here for the benefit of commerce. Therefore, the manner in which these songs weigh down, grind, and chew make all the sense in the world. It’s the translation of how that feels from people who have been locked in the same system as the rest of us.

“Peso Muerto” opens and runs a healthy 9:31, smothering immediately, howls peppering festering wounds, smearing and battering into something deformed. The pace combusts and decimates as the guitars sprawl, chaos unleashes hell and ash, and every element batters fully, sounds stretching over madness. Somehow the band finds a more gargantuan level, attacking and slithering into infernal terror, the gusts licking limbs with flames. “Wielder” is a massive13:56, stinging as a thickened assault slithers your way, chunky rhythms and mashing power having their way, the senses totally obliterated. Howls crush as total decimation swallows psyches whole, disarming and charging, guitars spiraling into a vortex as the growls increase the pain. A tornadic force unglues and grinds down, eventually merging with a hellstorm, drone chewing at bones as an extended ending makes sure you experience every bit of torture. “Future Wreck” jars as fumes spread, howls gust, and the bruising becomes more pronounced, breaking open fully, the growls clawing at faces. The playing thrashes and then suffocates, dissonant leads make your mind wander, and then things suddenly halt before a soundscape wafts. Guitars work through heavy ash clouds, and a strange transmission makes impulses bubble, heading into mysterious corners of space. 

“1988” is something of a breather, an ambient piece that pours sounds as stars crumble, adding pressure as it goes along, flooding through dark matter and hissing far into the stars. “Not a Proper Burial” is sooty with guitars moaning, and an eruption jarring the floor beneath you. The pace is relentless, destroying everything in sight, offering no gasp for air, digging in and dislodging bones. Crazed vocals smear as weird melodies flow wildly, guitars drive through a reborn energy belt, and the inherent strangeness multiplies and devours. “Ichor” is the longest track here at 14:45, and it radiates before engulfing, the playing warping, unexpected singing bellowing like a detached phantom, slipping into rough folds and edges. The playing turns rubbery, a monstrous force explodes from its mouth, and the howls tear at sanity, the drumming splattering. Roars crush as the guitars generate steam, noise builds, and everything is bent into submission. Closer “Industrial Offering” drips fuel before detonating, the crushing force blowing bodies back, the wails destroying as the force becomes insurmountable. The pace becomes a battering ram, sounds truck, and the playing swims in chaos, bleeding out into oblivion.

Altarage bring a feast to the table with “Cogwheel,” one of their most abrasive records yet, and one that might take time to digest. There is a lot to handle thematically as well as we  deal with unforgiving life forces that mean us harm, as well as the ways our minds try to find peace. This record isn’t meant for your summer drives or metal playlists. This is human music that is mean, unsanitized, and meant for the dark hours when all that remains are you and your thoughts.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://sentientruin.com/releases/altarage-cogwheel

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