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There is nothing better than a well told story, with its captivating introduction, concise development, surprising twists, and satisfying conclusion. In musical terms, the equivalent would be a full studio album that wraps up a fruitful creative period and exciting sonic journey, bringing together the ideas, themes and moods explored across several separate EPs in one thorough, conceptual and purpesful entity. In other words, this is ALTAR, the latest studio record from Belgian newcomers Ice Sealed Eyes that sees all their hard work in the last few years come to a well-deserved grand celebration of metalcore excellence.
ALTAR is the brilliant combination of Ice Sealed Eyes' three EPs - Vol.1: Torments, Vol.2: Fragments, and Vol.3: Laments, previously released between the beginning of 2023 and earlier in 2024. I was positively surprised from the band on my review of their second EP from last year, and went on to label them as the one musical act to watch closely in 2024 on my traditional annual review for last year. I am now thrilled to see them display their full potential and broaden their horizons even further with ALTAR, one hour of near-faultless modern alternative metalcore with particular focus on proggy compositions, instrumental ornamentation, atmospheric framework and meticulous precision.
The full album takes all main tracks from the three EPs, puts them in a logical order with three dystopian instrumental interludes - An Entity, Mourning Sun and More Than Reflexion, and two extra finishing tracks to wrap it all with a bang. The four songs from Torments up to the otherworldly 'There Is No Safety In The Dark' set the tone at the start with uncontainable ferocity, then Fragments expands on all ideas and reaches a certain album high with 'As We Collide' before the most recent EP Laments closes the original trilogy with the aethereal 'Inner Wings'. And then, just when you think it is over, Ice Sealed Eyes drop the thunderous new concluding pair of the chilling 'Winter' and poetic '...Until The End' for a proper final twist.
Presented with a fresh perspective, purpose and delivery, ALTAR is truly a captivating modern metal experience. The album successfully avoids typical genre pitfalls, scene cliches and overall predictability, and instead maintains a steady balance and creative approach throughout. From Humanity's Last Breath, Thornhill and Sleep Token, to The Plot In You, Allt and Pridelands, the parallels are many and diverse, but Ice Sealed Eyes stand proudly and firmly in a league of their own. They get intimate and melancholic when they want to, but remain brutal and direct when they have to, delivering an LP that is sumltaneously raw and polished, traditional and futuristic, progressive and accessible, imaginative and deliberate, emotive and savage.
To wrap this up, I am inclined to repeat the ending paragraph of my previous review of their second EP: "...they do not sound like a rising band making their hesitant first steps in the scene, but as a mature and confident outfit that know who they are, what they want and how to achieve it". I stand by my words and am thrilled to see them back me calling them "one for the future" with their potential and talent on full display for everyone to enjoy.
The last time I was so positively surprised by a proggy-oriented contemporary metalcore record was on Pridelands' Light Bends and The Gloom In The Corner's Trinity, both staples of Australia' modern metal profficiency, so it is fantastic to see such impacful record originate from Europe. Whether ALTAR really is the international breakthrough remains to be seen but either way, the boys at Ice Sealed Eyes have concluded a fruitful two-year release schedule perfectly and deserve all the attention and praise.
Ice Sealed Eyes - 'ALTAR'
Country: Belgium
Released: 31 October 2024
Label: Self
Tracklisting:
1. I: An Entity
2. Torments
3. Distance
4. Fracture
5. There Is No Safety In The Dark
6. II: Mourning Sun
7. Satellite
8. As We Collide
9. Forlorn
10. Deadweight (ft. Concealed Reality)
11. Suffocate
12. III: More Than A Reflexion
13. Needles
14. The Pond
15. Bloom (ft. FreeHowling)
16. Inner Wings
17. Winter
18. ...Until The End
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