Bezdan – Upon the Altar

Almost 15 years into their existence, and several singles and EPs under their belt during the years, Croatian four-piece combo Bezdan (Abyss) finally present their eagerly awaited debut full-length entitled, Upon the Altar.

The band, comprised of; Filip Horvat (guitars), Tomislav Baranašić (vocals & guitars), Filip Vučković (bass & backing vocals) and Ivan Bajrović (drums) have created this nine-tracker, consisting of following tracks:

1. Upon the Altar (Intro)
2. Sacrificial Death
3. Dark Messiah
4. When Death Becomes Your Life
5. Endless Fields of Bones
6. Hades Knights
7. Vengeance
8. Infernal Howls
9. Crypt of Ancient

Raw, evil, old-school, passionate and aggressive, are just some of the words suitable to describe the Upon the Altar. Thus, from the very opening “Intro”, we get bombarded, and sonically assaulted, with a mix of old-school thrash fast tempos, aggressive shouted vocals, and intricate palm-muted guitar riffs with high-register solos. Furthermore we get to hear a black metal atmosphere, featuring additional shrieking vocals, sinister riffs and raw old-school production. Morbid and gore-focused lyrics, while incorporating the aforementioned speed of thrash metal, mixed with complex riffs and downtuned guitars, occasionally tends to sound in the vein of early death metal. In other words; inspiration comes in form of such a diverse acts as Possessed, 80s Death, Morbid Angel, old-Sepultura, Deströyer 666, Slayer, Sodom, Bulldozer, as well as old ex-Yugoslavian heroes Heller.

The album opens with a title track, “Upon the Altar”, marking an energetic start with solid riffs and black metal chords. A much faster tempo and a significantly more complex sound comes within the following “Sacrificial Death”, being a very solid thrash metal song, mostly recognizible for the solid rhythm section and the vocals that alternate between growls and high-pitched screams. The next track, “Dark Messiah” showcases impressive technical skills on the rhythm guitar alongside this relatively long and complex solo. It’s one of the shortest, yet one of the most intense and powerful songs on Upon the Altar. Now it’s a time to move to the next song called, “When Death Becomes Your Life” where it more or less follows a similar path laid on its predecessor, although I feel as the vocals are a bit more muffled and massive here?! We quickly move to the middle track called “Endless Fields Of Bones” which (in the beginning) starts with a slower and more melodic pace, for soon after to kick-in with some fast riffing and raw and vocals. The album continues with “Hades Knights” (watch video for this first single from the album below) where the Croatian quartet introduces more elements of black metal, as described above. “Vengeance” and “Infernal Howls” are again two tracks that have some of the similar features; tight riffing, powerful energy, breakneck transitions and frantic soloing. The final song named “Crypts Of Ancient” serves as a nice closer for this uncompromising nine-tracker opus; featuring an atmospheric opening, for soon after picking up the speed, while constantly shifting tempo and rhythms.

The production for Upon the Altar was handled by Leonard Klaić, whilst the album was mastered by Magnus Devo Andersson at ‘Endarker Studio’ in Sweden. The production is obviously old-school, organic, mean and punchy, although I would say it lacks a bit of depth and a more balanced sound, where especially the drums could come forward in the mix. As it is now, the vocals dominate the overall sound, but I consider it still to be only a minor fault.

Conclusion: Upon the Altar is a piece of honest and straightforward extreme metal. It was a highly enjoyable listening experience, so I had to give it two additional spins. Upon the Altar proves that it doesn’t need to be groundbreaking or revolutionary to be a solid record! It’s a furious, intense and fast-paced album that got me headbanging, what more can one ask for?! Consequently, anyone into honest and old-school mix of thrash, death, speed and black metal, should absolutely check this brand-new full-length by Bezdan.

To get more information on Bezdan and learn more on Upon the Altar, you can check their bandcamp.