ASPHYXIUM ZINE

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Video Review: ALTAIR Seed Of Violence by Dave Wolff

ALTAIR
Seed Of Violence
From the band’s upcoming full length Descending: A Devilish Comedy to be released on Sleaszy Rider Records June 30
My first taste of Descending: A Devilish Comedy was Altair’s promotional video for Seed Of Violence. Watching this video I immediately could tell the band has an unconventional approach to songwriting. Scheduled for an end of the month release, Descending… is the follow up to their 2013 debut Lost Eden, posted for streaming at Altair’s Bandcamp page if you’re interested in checking it out. The setting is simplistic enough for the most part, showing them in an outdoor location; however there is a clever setup showing a musician practicing on a piano while a television shows images of war merging with a band shot. The close up angles of each band member reveals their ability without becoming pretentious beauty shots. You can see they concentrate on making an impressive performance representing the song’s inventiveness. Metalmessage writes a bio describing Altair as ambitious and virtuosic, shedding light on each band member’s talent. The promotion company goes on to compare them to Rhapsody and Angra. I would say these descriptions are accurate. Their top notch musicianship equals their professionalism and there are many indications they are integrating new methods into composing power metal, especially the method by which the guitars and keyboards complement each other. The latter instrument mostly serves as a backdrop for the progressions and time changes, coming close to making Seed Of Violence a religious experience. Lead vocalist Simone Mala sings with sharp diction making each line clear over the rich musical backdrop. The video ends on a similar note to its beginning, returning to where the lone musician is practicing. I’m interested in hearing the rest of the album once it comes out. -Dave Wolff

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