No, it’s not Xena: Warrior Princess fan fic, though given how much of a nerd I am for just about everything Pittsburgh‘s Shadow Kingdom Records puts out, it might as well be. The young label, aside from having signed on to release the new album from way underground Maryland doom mavens Iron Man has put on one of the best and most genuine reissue stints I’ve ever come across — and I say “genuine” because the records are genuinely cool and the kind of stuff that no one would dig up just for the cash. The band is Altar of Oblivion, the album is called Sinews of Anguish, and the label checked in with this news:

A brand new Epic Heavy Metal band with Doom touches has emerged from the great Denmark. I received their Demo in 2007 and was blown away by the potential this band had. Martin (guitarist/songwriter) has a really unique riffing style that I love. The riffs are really catchy, heavy, and choppy (for lack of a better word). When you finally get used to his guitar playing you?ll find out it?s a signature sound that he developed. The combination of the Epic styled songwriting with some really subtle Doom-y sections mixed with the very young, talented, and uniquely distinct Mik on vocals puts this band to the top of the Epic Heavy/Doom metal scene. If you liked the demo at all (by the way ?Wrapped In Ruins? is again featured on this new album) the new album is definitely were you would have wanted the band to be by this time because the songwriting has exceeded the expectation. This album is a full-on conceptual, emotional trip about the pain, suffering, and horrors of war. With that in mind, expect nothing but crushing riffs filled with sorrow, despair, and with powerful vocals with so much emotion, depending on your mood might bring a tear to your eye. Altar of Oblivion are keeping the Epic Doom torch aflame that was started by the great and well respected bands like Candlemass, Solstice, Solitude Aeturnus, Revelation, Trouble, etc.

1. The Final Pledge (5:23)
2. Wrapped in Ruins (6:15)
3. Behind the Veil of Nights (7:19)
4. My Pinnacle of Power (9:12)
5. A Retreat into Delusions (6:17)
6. Casus Belli (5:35)
7. Stainless Steel (7:08)
8. Sinews of Anguish (11:08)

Check them out (keep in mind the master sounds a lot better) : http://www.myspace.com/altarofoblivion

Shadow Kingdom Records

Tags: Altar of Oblivion, Denmark, Shadow Kingdom

This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 10:21 am and is filed under Whathaveyou. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.