By Greg Pratt

Denmark doom squad ALTAR OF OBLIVION are putting good old-fashioned trad metal with doom overtones back on the metal map (or is that doom with trad overtones?) with Grand Gesture Of Defiance, their second album. The album is an excellent example of the glory of metal, pure ale-raising joy; even when it's downer central, it's done so in a way that makes you feel good, like TROUBLE, like any number of Metal Blade bands from the '80s. This is timeless stuff.

“Generally, I am very satisfied with the album even though there are some minor things I would've liked to have done differently, especially in the vocal department,” says guitarist Martin Mendelssohn. “Compared to our previous releases, Mik [Mentor, vocals] really sings his ass off on Grand Gesture Of Defiance but due to a tight recording schedule, we didn’t have time to do as much experimenting as we would've liked to. Since the foundation of the band, Mik has improved a lot, and I know he's capable of a lot more than he showcases on this album. There's always room for improvement, and that applies to all members of the band.”

Oh, stop being so modest. I actually think the vocals were one of the highlights of the album, soaring, total classic-metal-guy sound without being grating balls-in-vice or retro cheese or anything. Soulful, just going for it, warts and all. A pleasure to listen to.

“I'm glad you like the vocals,” says Mendelssohn. “We're not afraid to take chances with our music and explore new areas. Luckily, our singer feels the same way: he's eager to learn, to experiment, and to try out new things. He can do a lot of different things with his vocals and if we feel that a strange or different vocal approach will fit a certain part of a song, we go for it. That way, the vocals get more dynamic, dramatic, and theatrical. I know that some people get turned off by the vocals but that must be their problem (laughs). Playing safe is just too damn boring and usually tends to compromise your musical integrity and identity, I think.”

Another way this one harkens back to the glory years of '80s metal is its short, compact playing time, which is a surprise given that the album is actually a concept album... but it's merely disc one of a grander two-album scheme.

“When I wrote the material, I ended up with approximately 90 minutes of music, which was too much music to fit on one album,” says Mendelssohn. “I decided to split the concept into two short stories, and I’m looking forward to recording part two. The pre-production had a running time of about 45 minutes but in the studio, we rearranged some parts and made them shorter. Also, we skipped the album intro, which was an instrumental piece called 'New World Disorder'. In the end, the album turned out a bit shorter than expected. Besides, back in the day, a full-length was a full-length if it had a running time of 30 minutes (laughs).”

So in the end the band operates in their own world, in a way. Definitely flying way under the radar even as far as doom metal goes, the guys are still content to do what they do, which is fly the flag of “epic doom metal” high and proud.

“Without a doubt, our style pretty much epitomizes what epic doom metal is all about,” says Mendelssohn. “Even though it’s a small niche and our music can be rather esoteric at times, I think we appeal to lots of people with an open mind, not only within the metal scene. It sure could be fun to conquer more territory (laughs).”