Title: The Dark Tower
Label: War Productions / Dead Sheep Productions
Release Date: January 26, 2018
Country: Portugal
Portugal’s Alastor plays black thrash metal exactly the way as it was done when it appeared in the 80’s. It is worth to mention that they are also the origin of Porugal’s black metal band Decayed.
Alastor started in 1988 with JA on guitars/vocals and JF on drums. Their music mixes in a very good way the black metal made in the 90's with the aggressiveness of thrash metal of the 80's.
The Dark Tower is Alastor’s sixth full-length album. It celebrates band’s 30th anniversary in the best way. Now the line up consists of JA on rhythm guitars, GC on vocals and bass guitar, NS on lead guitars and FS on drums. The new album represents 47.33 min of pure black thrash whirlwind. The songs are real anthems, neck-breakers, and easily can be remembered and sang along despite of being in Portuguese (by non-Portugesse speaking fans).
There is an intro, middle-album intro and of course Final obscuro. The overall mood suggests satanic dark evil all the time. The intensive "O Mal Morto", "Nas Trevas", "O Poder do Inferno", "Possuída por Satã", "Máquina Infernal (O Olho do Inferno)" are riffy, very speedy, evil, breath-taking. Invocacoes is an amazing rushing instrumental. "O Pai Da Mentira", "Depois Do Sarcófago" and "Portal Maldido" are chants easily evoking the darkest powers. Between the tracks can be heard disturbing, abusing dark dialogue-introductions which additionally stress on the evil nature of the record. For me personally this record is a gem just in the beginning of the year. It can be considered an excellent player in the so popular in the last couple of years blackened thrash. Being a contemporary, but at the same time carrying the nostalgia of the 80s and the real aggressive passion when recording unmerciful music. 9/10 By Count Vlad
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