Portland, Oregon’s Alltar — also stylized as A//tar — release Live at Ceremony of Sludge today, Feb. 12. The recording was captured in the final days of the before-time, March 6, 2020, at Ceremony of Sludge IX at the World Famous Kenton Club in Portland. The long-running and loyally-localist festival has been overseen by Justin Brown and Blaine Andrews since its inception, and Alltar took part in an evening lineup that included the likes of Glasghote (who also released their set), San Francisco’s Brume, plus Usnea and Zyl. Past editions have boasted the likes of Holy Grove, Witch Mountain (for whom Justin Brown plays bass), Megaton Leviathan and many, many others.

Alltar stepped sure-footed into that righteous company last March, playing essentially a three-song/33-minute set filled out by interludes of Moog synth from vocalist Juan Carlos Caceres, who is revealed to be an even more significant presence on stage than his performance on Alltar‘s 2019 debut, Hallowed (review here), as he engages the crowd and shifts between post-hardcore screams and cleaner-sung shouts atop the post-metal/atmosludge riffs of Tim Burke and Colin Hill, Casey Braunger‘s bass and Nate Wright‘s drums. The fact that none of these dudes are strangers to each other — 60 percent of the band also plays in Hound the Wolves, and there’s history going back further than that — comes through in the comfort level of the performance, and nobody suffers from the showcase, be it in “War Altar” or “Arcana” and “Cantilate” that surround on either side.

I single out “War Altar” because of the three longer pieces on Live at Ceremony of Sludge — the shorter ones are the “Intro,” “Interlude” and “Ceremony of Sludge” — “War Altar” is the only one that appeared on Hallowed. The obvious deduction there is that “Arcana” and “Cantilate” — both drawing from a kind of mysticism element, the latter capping in particularly crushing fashion — are new. Perhaps had 2020 happened in another reality, Alltar would already be on their second album. We’ll never know, but whether those songs are new or were written around the same time as Hallowed and held back for the proverbial “next one,” they showcase the band’s atmospheric side well. That’s further bolstered by the interludes between songs, of course, but within the churning progressions as well and the loud/quiet trades, shifts in vocal approach, etc., Alltar play out a ranging dynamic that only seems to be pushing deeper into itself as it willfully basks in the ethereal.

That sensibility would be difficult enough to pull together in the studio, let alone on a live album, but despite the stage banter’s grounding effect in time and place, Alltar manage to cast a mood across their relatively brief set — they played as second of the five — that resonates in its quieter spaces and outright stomp alike. Listening to “Arcana” and “Cantilate,” my impression winds up similar to how I felt coming out of Hallowed, which is that Alltar are a unit rife with forward potential. The fact that they can carry that across on stage as documented here only makes them a stronger band in my mind, and it’s all the more reason to look forward to their next offering, whenever it might arrive.

There is a glut of live releases happening right now as bands offer up the audio from livestreams or dig into the backlog of recorded shows past, but I don’t think that’s a negative at all, and Alltar join the ranks with a particularly telling and progressive vibe that’s still manageable for an easy front-to-back listen. Hell’s bells, it’s three songs.

So enjoy it:

Juan Carlos Caceres on Live at Ceremony of Sludge:

It’s mindboggling to think that this was our last show and it’s been almost a year since then. There’s no doubt that this pandemic has derailed the lives and passions of so many people. As challenging as it has been, I like to focus on the positive memories of having done this show and the standout for me is… community. Ceremony of Sludge doesn’t just showcase our city’s best underground heavy bands, it more so, highlights the incredible sense of community that our heavy music scene has. I know that I don’t just speak for myself when I say that we are all lucky to have people like Justin Brown, Blaine Andrew, and their crew in this scene. They have worked hard to bring nine years of incredible line ups together. I feel immense gratitude to have played five nights at four different Ceremony shows through out the years and get to meet so many amazing people along the way. For A//tar, this was a special show. Not only were we making our second appearance in two years but we were debuting two unrecorded tracks and there’s no doubt that we all felt the pressure of delivering a high quality performance. We are really pleased with how well the audio was captured and are so excited to share this with people.

Order “Live At Ceremony of Sludge”: https://alltar.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-ceremony-of-sludge

“Ceremony of Sluuuuudge, baby!” comes booming through the speakers from vocalist Juan Carlos Caceres, whose amiable attitude contrasts with both the Ozzy-like wailing and harsher screaming – both of which hitting impressive peaks on “War Altar”. The lyrics draw from a wide range of topics; in the bands’ words, “the triumphs and tribulations of human-kind. From the technical and artistic birth of society’s achievements in art and technology, as well as the rise of power, war, destruction, and the control of humanity.”

Alltar is:
Nate Wright – Drums (Hound the Wolves, Tigers On Opium)
Tim Burke – Guitars, Samples (ex-Boneworm, Hound the Wolves, Electric Ring, ex-Skull Island)
Colin Hill – Guitars, Samples
Juan Carlos Caceres – Vocals, Moog Synthesizers (Tigers On Opium, ex-Sioux, Hound the Wolves, The Hungry Ghost)
Casey Braunger – Bass (He is Me)

Alltar on Thee Facebooks

Alltar on Instagram

Alltar on Bandcamp

Monochord Records on Thee Facebooks

Monochord Records on Bandcamp

Portland, Oregon, post-metallers Alltar — also stylized as A//TAR, as on their logo/cover art — will release their debut album, Hallowed, through Monochord Records this Friday, Sept. 6. The initial offering from the band that also comprises three-fifths of recently-discussed noisemakers Hound the Wolves — those being vocalist, Moog-ist Juan Carlos Caceres, guitarist/sampler Tim Burke and drummer Nate Wright; Colin Hill plays guitar and Sean Frederick plays bass on the recording and has since been replaced by Casey Braunger — is made up of four songs that run a very vinyl-friendly 35 minutes and brings forth Isis-style hypnotic march and atmospheric spread, dug into with volume trades that remind of Rwake‘s later work with a sense of volatility that seems to revel in never quite letting the listener know when the tension is going to pay off. With everything but vocals recorded and mixed by Fester at Caravan Studios, Haywire Studios, and the Hypercube and vocals helmed by Jeanot Lewis-Rolland at JLR Audio Productions and mastering by Ryan Foster at Foster Mastering, it is straightforward in its arrangements to be positioning itself as a root form of post-metal, bringing the aesthetic full circle and back to its cerebral roots in churning rhythms and shifts between deeply-weighted contemplation and voluminous sway and crash.

The album breaks cleanly into two vinyl sides with two songs apiece, the second longer than the first by about five minutes, but all the more immersive for that. The relative brevity of what Alltar do here — as a style that essentially began with Neurosis in the late ’90s and early ’00s, a pattern of CD-era album lengths for post-metal has been set as a tenet of the subgenre — makes Hallowed effective at creating the impression of playing to essential elements. That’s not to say the record is simple in arrangement or execution, with Moog and samples here and there, spoken word on the 11-minute side A closer “War Altar” and side B opener “Induction” and loud/quiet trades across the span, but that neither is it an effects wash, and the guitars of Hill and Burke are plainly more interested in crunch than sprawl. There’s no post-rock float, and even in the windy intro to opener “Horology,” the quiet stretch is more about creating tension ahead of the punch to come, and the same goes for the Moog-laced beginning of closer “Spoils,” though the latter might be as close as they come, even if it’s offset by the slowest and hardest-bashing crash to be found on the record.

It’s interesting to note the idea of worship in what Alltar are doing. Their moniker, for example. “All,” and “altar,” together. And calling their first record Hallowed would seem to be underscoring the point. Their music itself, while of a lineage with the aforementioned Isis and of course that band’s forebears in Neurosis and their many acolytes, is made all the more distinct through this notion, but the prevailing vibe of the tracks themselves is more mournful than celebratory. That’s true as Caceres shifts between clean singing and shouts throughout and even as “Spoils” churn-chugs to its ultimate conclusion, following up on the charged design of “War Altar” in a way that feels conceptual. Alltar, then, seem to be calling more into question in terms of who we are and what we choose to worship. This is a decidedly American ideal: the crafting of identity through reconciliation with history either personal or cultural, and if Alltar‘s scope is set to encompass, well, everything, then it seems only fair to call that ambitious as an understatement and remain impressed at the sense of focus they nonetheless conjure throughout their well-plotted material, delivered with what sounds like a burgeoning sense of patience.

And normally, this is the part where I’d say I expect that sense of patience to come more to the fore their next time out, but frankly, I don’t. Alltar‘s Hallowed has been sitting on the proverbial shelf for nearly two years since it was recorded as the band dealt with label issues — Monochord Records is their own and also put out Hound the Wolves, so technically this is a self-release — and I would think that the pent up frustration, one way or another, would manifest in their next batch of songs, or at least in parts should they keep up the loud/quiet trades one finds throughout these four tracks. All the same, it will be interesting to hear as they move forward just in what fashion they do, how their arrangements grow and flourish and in what manner they build on the solid foundation they’ve given themselves to work from here in theme and style. I’ll reserve any further speculation so as to prevent feeling like a jackass later when I’m so very wrong, but take the intrigue as a sign that whatever Alltar do as a sequel will be worth chasing down to find out where they end up.

They’re on tour later in September out west, and you’ll find those dates under the full stream of Hallowed below, as well as some more background from the PR wire.

I hope you enjoy:

Founded by guitarist Tim Burke (also of Hound The Wolves) in 2016, the band has developed through a careful, deliberate evolution to reach its perfect lineup with Juan Carlos Caceres (vocals, Moog), Nate Wright (drums), Colin Hill (guitar, samples) and Casey Braunger (bass.) With the same deliberation, the band spent the latter half of 2017 recording their 4-song debut album at 3 different studios in Portland, then mixing and mastering in Spring 2018. A record label came into the picture soon thereafter, though the album release was held up as the label’s funds were scarce. Eventually, the label folded and the band wrestled back their masters, choosing to self-release, now well into 2019.

“Upon the A//TAR we place our past,” the band declares. “Through the triumphs and tribulations of human-kind. From the technical and artistic birth of society’s achievements in art and technology, as well as the rise of power, war, destruction, and the control of humanity. Through the inevitable dark decay and cold loss, our music is inspired.”

Tracked by Jeanot Lewis-Rolland at the Magic Closet and JLR Audio Productions. Mixed by Fester. Mastered by Ryan Foster at Foster Mastering. Hallowed will be available on CD and download on September 6th, 2019. Pre-orders are available HERE.

A//TAR LIVE 2019:
09/04 Portland, OR @ Dante’s
09/20 Eugene, OR @ Sessions’ Lounge
09/21 Boise, ID @ The Shredder
09/22 Reno, NV @ TBA
09/23 Sacramento, CA @ On The Y
09/24 San Jose, CA @ The Ritz
09/25 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Blue Lagoon
09/26 Oakland, CA @ The Golden Bull
09/28 Seattle, WA @ The Highline
10/05 Portland, OR @ Twilight Bar

A//TAR is:
Tim Burke – Guitar, Samples
Juan Carlos Caceres – Vocals, Moog, Spoken Word
Casey Braunger – Bass
Nate Wright – Drums
Colin Hill – Guitar

Alltar on Thee Facebooks

Alltar on Instagram

Alltar on Bandcamp

Monochord Records on Thee Facebooks

Monochord Records on Bandcamp