It’s time for a new album from Scott Carlson, folks! But before all you Death-heads start foaming, this is the Iron Mtn. founder member, and for some of us that’s even more exciting. The LA quartet delivered only one half-hour EP of sick psych doom instrumentals during their short life, but it was enough to get the underground internet yattering.
New project Ancient Altar, formed by Carlson and fellow ex- Mtn. man Bill Cavener, seems set to fan those flames further.
This self-titled debut album (Midnite Collective) takes a different angle, being a nasty, sludgy little number. There’s a wonderfully deep tone to opener ‘Tidal’ thanks to a rumbling bass and a beefy production, retaining a mere hint of fuzz. A largely doom-paced opening to the track sees diseased roars and a malevolent hiss cover throbbing, low-end guitars, vaguely reminiscent of 50’s rock ‘n’ roll. That mellow riffing wears a dramatic and doleful face on the gloriously growing swell of ‘Ek Balam’, with the eventual quickening of the beat opening the gates to a brooding yet barrelling stoner growl almost black in shimmering sections as the track progresses. The lead work is all low chords, understated yet beautifully orchestrated to heighten the effect. It is a full five minutes before that hostile wail seeps evil gloop over the speakers, yet the track hasn’t suffered without it. In fact, on occasion, the roar descends into deranged territory akin to Captain Caveman, introducing (for those who remember the cuddly troglodyte) a sense of levity where there should be only pain and hatred.
There is, however, more than enough to compensate. Closer ‘Pulled Out’places the listener in a dank, desolate place with what is initially an almost balladic pace and tone and the track gradually builds as rhythms and drums lift and strengthen a slightly shimmering lead, the agonised roar telling a tale of real loss.
With such bruisingly heavy yet achingly emotive landscapes evident through a rich, dark and weighty tapestry of sheer enmity, this is an intriguing first foray possessing no little invention.
8.0/10.0
PAUL QUINN