Beckoning the chthonic wildman, waking the shadow animus. — In times where culture-sapped plebeian life appears to celebrate a common void of critical thought, much less face value inference, it should not go without saying that Madrid, Spain-based atmospheric black/ritual ambient project At the Altar of the Horned God is a spiritual summoning, a ritual d’arte crafted with great personal meaning which names itself with direct imagery and an exact point of worship. We can assume a variety of scenes envisioned and many panoptic angles arisen within each setting presented yet it all starts with the reverence of ritual in mind, an assumed posture at a singular pagan altar vital to achieving the singular spiritual plane for the artist to web and weave outward from. On this second full-length album an entire clearing, a jagged stage cut from ancient stone, serves as upward-shot resonance within his canyon of summoning as ‘Heart of Silence‘ conjures by physical demand the beat of countless drums, giving way to fuming, sky-searching primal energy.

At the Altar of the Horned God formed circa 2019 as spiritual outlet for dark ambiance, neofolk and echoes of ritual psychedelia from black metal musician Heolstor who is best known for his work in Mystagos. The original focus of the project has been suggested as something relative to the evolution of Ulver and the spiritual ventures of Arckanum with some dark folk/dark wave inspiration driving the artist away from a purely naturalistic or full-on pagan/atmospheric black metal process. The actual outcome does land with a certain stature relevant to those thoughts yet I’d include early Empyrium and the more aggressive side of Urfaust to redirect the expectations of the palate. The debut full-length from the artist (‘Through Doors of Moonlight‘, 2020), which I’d briefly described/recommended when it’d released, arrived at a time where ‘Azoth‘ was still fresh in mind and my interest in the artist’s work was at its most rabid point of discovery, remarking the record was “a fairly balanced spread of snarling yet ethereal atmospheric black metal pieces and incredibly varied ritualistic odes and prayers.” and this is generally still true in approach of ‘Heart of Silence‘ though this second record focuses on dramatic black metal landscapes more often, reserving the hymnal, tribal/ritual folk feeling to only a few key pieces on the running order (“Guardian of the Threshold”, “Listen”) wherein precedence is built for more interesting hybridized forms (“Closing Circle”, “Severing Light”) as the project elaborates on its more original conceptions.

Hymns to Pan, offerings to Cernunnos. — The spectacle which dominated the first impression and the knack that charmed several full listens of ‘Heart of Silence‘ during the inductive phase was decidedly the pieces infused with a primitive spiritual affect, enhanced by a ritualistic percussive flair. “Listen” is a crowning mantra above all else and an infectious one which reflects some of the breakthroughs found on Mystagos‘ ‘Azoth‘ in terms of the artist’s distinct baritone register as well as the martial percussion that’d helped ‘Through Doors of Moonlight‘ stick in mind. These pieces should draw some interest from folks who admire, or at least side-eye, the martial industrial inflected realm of neofolk while justifying the mentions of avant-garde/experimental black metal acts prior who’d likewise taken inspiration from the worldly ‘scapes of Dead Can Dance (and nearby). We find the most effective hybridization of dark wave/rock beats, spiritual vocal cadence, and some implication of ex-black metal oeuvre on “Closing Circle”, an excellent piece to suggest what is new on this sophomore LP and where a deeper hybridized sound might go (alongside “Severing Light”.) That said, of course I am most invested in the songs which lean deepest into the black metal aspect since these add absolutely necessary variety, action to the experience.

“Heart of Silence” shows a long-matured history of black metal composition in flexion, though it is not a “riff” song they’ve lead with an engaging swell before pulling back to a buzz and riding that wave into a memorable mid-section, the hook and spectacle of the piece, before easing back into this faster-paced movement. Subtle as this might be at face value this ends up being an appreciably steady point of entrance for the atmospheric black metal side of the project, all of which persists for some necessary or impactful reason rather than filling the gaps as we’d found on one or two sections of the previous record. The only piece which lingers and shows a bit of its homebrewed drum sound comes with “Chthonic Summoning” and in general this mid-point on the album is where I’d felt the record lagged out for my taste after numerous listens. Otherwise I’d felt that the subtle vocal harmonies of “Anointed with Fire”, the one fully black metal piece on the record, gave it something a bit extra enough to serve as the heaviest highlight of the full listen. At the Altar of the Horned God yet bears equal interest outside of the black metal medium and should not be considered a “black metal plus…” situation, but a full-ranged entity willing to fully lean into the black metal spectrum without being limited to it. In fact their cover of “God is in the Rain”, a Suicide Commando piece per ‘Implements of Hell‘, suggests there is more than a knack for the ritualistic blackened industrial-folken curiosity forming within ‘Heart of Silence‘.

An ambitious vision delivered with decisive taste, ‘Heart of Silence‘ does more than lean into the oddest, personae rich aspects of its predecessor, forging an experience decidedly more memorable and captivating than before to the point that it persists as a bout of valuable change. At the Altar of the Horned God only appears to grow more devout through practice within the events of this record, possessed and unconscious of witness as inspiration hits. This goes a long way toward immersing the listener in scene, taking a step beyond the interesting sub-genre crossover inherent to the event. Though it isn’t a pristine or perfect work, and I’d assume the range of the vocals will be an acquired taste for many, the result is convincing and infectious enough in its unique atmosphere that I’d returned to it countless times over the course of the last month or so. A high recommendation.

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