‘And carried by the wind, Forgotten screams, None are sovereign or reigned, All lost like a dream’ (The Moon)

Waves crashing against the cliff face.  The wind howling as if nature itself has been betrayed.  Banks of fog rolling relentlessly into shore, swamping the isolated abbey that stands upon the headland. Regrettably, I’ve never had the chance to visit Whitby, where Bram Stoker’s Dracula first comes to shore in North East England. But, if you were looking for a soundtrack to that most unsettling passage, Altar Of Eden would absolutely nail it for you.

This is the Austin trio’s third album, 2021’s Chimeras lurking in the shadows between Volumes I and II of The Grotto Screams.  Some contemporary interpretations of post-punk come with a bombastic sheen that is increasingly distant from the DIY origins from which they were born.  There are no such reservations with the Altar Of Eden, who feature members of Hologram, Institute, and latter day …And You Will know Us By The Trail Of Dead amid their ranks.

They continue to strip their death rock fuelled sound down to its very essence.  The supple, elastic bass lines sit resonantly front and centre, interplaying with the crisply resolute percussion.  The guitar weaves its own mournful tapestry, brittle and skeletal yet insidiously catchy.  Meanwhile, the gothic drawls and sombre murmurs conjure themes of decay and rebirth, light and shadow into a deeply atmospheric lament.

Subtle shifts in texture carry all the more weight due to the austere restraint of the wider palette.  As you are embraced by the serpentine drive of Nocturno, the spartan solemnity of The Erasure (I love the drama of the climatic change of pace), and the ominous fervour of Eternal, you can’t help but sense the darkness descending.