SPLIT REVIEW: Gosudar / Malignant Altar

Two bands that have certainly earned their dues in the Death Metal underground are Russia’s GOSUDAR and America’s MALIGNANT ALTAR! Coming together for a putrid split in the fashion of Warlock’s “East Meets West”, this will certainly give us the brutality we crave. Set for release via Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Rotted Life Records on December 16th.

Gosudar kick things off with droning notes of sepulchral doom. Opening with the longest track (at 10 minutes) is an unusual format, especially for a split but it showcases how uncompromisingly grotesque this experience promises to be. Gosudar’s debut album “Morbid Despotic Ritual” is, in my opinion, one of the best recent Death Metal records. So going into this, my expectations are set high. Indeed the booming drums are captured pristinely while the gritty guitars churn forth an unspeakable morbid odour. When the vocals join, their resemblance to classic Incantation and the like is executed with profound heaviness while the band have their own flavour that incorporates some filthy stomping hooks into the rotting atmosphere. One thing I really admire about Gosudar is their ability to sound gross while having actually very intricate songs just played with a primitive ferocity that slams out pure hatred while feeling original and unique. Their sense of dynamics is impeccable, as you can hear from the eldritch doom of the first track flowing into the thrashing hammers of the second. Whammy-dive solos lend to the old school aesthetic while the serpentine structure of their music seems to ever-move like a living pool of mysterious fluids. There is definitely a bit of everything from the old school of Death Metal to be found in their sound, without it feeling like a try-hard mess of aborted ideas. It is a fine line to walk between varied and indecisive and I believe Gosudar hit the sweet spot here. A remarkable occasion of offal and decay that perfectly encapsulates all things malicious and slimy.

Flip-side time and Malignant Altar fire on all cylinders. Guttural guitars spew into life with hideously malformed riffs tremolo picked atop monstrous drumming ferocity. The grunting vocals and mean-to-the-bone instruments trudge through pits of raw, grisly and dark Death Metal that complements Gosudar’s crypt-lurking tracks excellently. Malignant Altar utilise the insanity of the drumming and primitive riffs to concoct a sound that is very recognisable to those familiar with the demo and LP. Staying true to their sound, this new track is much in that vein of rottenness that we know and love from these barbarians. The soloing is utter mayhem too, as if the track couldn’t more intense. Between this masterful original piece and a truly superb cover Texan Death Metal royalty Imprecation, the b-side is certainly no let-down. In fact the ominous factor is even ramped up in place of the more sparse atmosphere, to give an oppressive note to the split while retaining the old school ichor of true extremity. Ending on a cover rather than an original could’ve felt like a weak move had it not been a) such a great track covered and b) such a wickedly wonderful rendition. Instead of a weak filler “The Awakening of the Majestic Darkness” does what is promised and unleashes true grimness upon us as the split culminates in carnage.

The amount of killer splits coming out in the Death Metal underground recently is something I love to see and hear. This old school bond of brutality forges alliances but also some really interesting and brilliant records like this one. Each band here is quite different and yet uses these strengths to give us a magnificent middle ground where each piece is a rancid marvel deserving of its place in the track list.