Iris

by Altars of Grief

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1.
09:19
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2.
06:15
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3.
06:20
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4.
07:02
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5.
08:11
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6.
07:26
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7.
09:17
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8.
02:05
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about

"Moving, well-crafted and infinitely replayable despite its implication, Altars of Grief have carved a modern classic of doom, coruscating yet beautifully bleak and never afraid to display its forefather’s bones. I don’t know who Iris is or what she represents, but whenever her namesake fades away, I know I would move mountains to have her back, and that is an effect that only the most prodigious of art can command."
- Angry Metal Guy (4.5/5)

"Altars of Grief remind us that there is no sound heavier than that of our own sorrow, and no art more powerful than that which stirs a yearning in our very souls."
- Toilet Ov Hell (4.5/5)

"Iris is a nigh-peerless construct of somber beauty and one of the greatest doom metal albums in years."
- Metal Injection (9.5/10)

"What they do so well is make the connections between what is on paper to how they compose and play the songs, and to how it connects with your emotions as a living person. If this album doesn’t completely move you on an impassioned level, you might want to check your pulse to see if you are still breathing."
- Metal Temple (10/10)

credits

released March 21, 2018

Damian Smith - Vocals, Lyrics
Erik Labossiere - Guitars, Vocals
Evan Paulson - Guitars, Vocals
Donny Pinay - Bass, Vocals
Zack Bellina - Drums, Vocals (on track five)

Cello on tracks 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 written and performed by Raphael Weinroth-Browne Track 8, “Epilogue” written and performed by Raphael Weinroth-Browne

Lyrics by Damian Smith (except for track 7, written by Erik Labossiere)
Music by Evan Paulson & Altars of Grief

Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by Justin Bender at Blue Door Recording & Retrosleep Studios in Regina, Saskatchewan

Cello recorded by Dean Watson at Gallery Recording Studios in Ottawa, Ontario

Artwork and Layout by Travis Smith (Seempieces)
[Katatonia, Opeth, Anathema]

Concept by Damian Smith and Erik Labossiere

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Altars of Grief image

Altars of Grief regina, Saskatchewan

Altars of Grief are a blackened doom metal band from the Canadian prairies. Their newest offering, Iris, is out now on Hypnotic Dirge Records!

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Track Name: Isolation
Left alone
With what I have become
Close my eyes
Kingdoms fall around me
Crowned with scorn
A heavy cross to bear
Turn away

I was never strong enough
To face what I left behind
Seeking comfort in anything
That could distract my troubled mind
The snow fell once again
Guiding my journey’s end
In solitude and twisted steel
Haunted by the grief that I still feel

Against an endless horizon
The fire seemed to burn forever
Another day smolders into night
Alone, I travel on

Finally at peace in frozen isolation
Where nothing dwells, but the spirits of my past

This decision would haunt my life
In the silence where all light dies
And as the seasons began to change
Revealing all that winter claimed
Beneath the frost, in endless sleep
A lonesome death for all to see
Preserving where my failures led me

Against an endless horizon
The fire seemed to burn forever
Another day smolders into night
Alone, I travel on
Track Name: Desolation
I opened my eyes
To the night sky
The unending storm
Revealed itself before me
Weightless in my resolve
But, still a burden remains
With this final breath
“Please, forgive me”

With every wasted prayer
I’ve watched your body wither
I’ve seen what you’ve become
As you pushed me away

Consumed by my pride
I fled from your side
And tried to understand
Your faith in this wretched world
That has condemned you
The lights of home have faded
Into desolation
I gave you all that I had
Your faith in this godless world
Has lead you astray

I opened my eyes
To a sky in flames
A cold wind lamenting
Through the unending plains
Within the frozen wreckage
Is where I shall remain
But, with this departure
I’ll be with you once again

I opened my eyes!
Track Name: Iris
Here I stand, head in hands
Questions unanswered
Do you hear my words?
This altar, veiled in dust
So long I’ve poured my faith
Still, you have failed her

Or, am I just blind and powerless?
Cursed with this need to escape my reality
I fall to my knees as she appears
Iris, stained with blood

Fall
(No life left in her eyes)
Close your eyes
(Nothing I could do)
Nothing inside
(How could you turn away?)
Turn away
(Embrace this)
Embrace finality

“My god!
I’ll see the Heaven’s burn!
I’ll never forgive you for this!”

As her cries subside
No sound broke the still
Silence is all that remains
Within these walls
I now see clear
I was always alone

Am I just blind and powerless?
Cursed with this need to escape my reality
Forgotten, as I’ve forgotten you
I’ll never let you take from me again
Track Name: Child of Light
Crestfallen
Two souls became one
A vestige of serenity
Grasping your cross
Reaching out
With your final breath
A life departed
Frozen and still

In this silence, I know
That you have found your peace
The embrace of falling snow
I brush the tears from your face
I no longer remember
When the world didn’t feel so cold
I lift my arms for the sky
And await this coming storm

Empyreal flames
Of my own creation
I will wait forever
For my salvation
Before I surrender
My faith unto you
You who has taken
Everything from me

Winter descends
Like ashes from the divine
Breathe in the fire
Let it swallow you whole
Close your eyes
I know I have failed you
Child of light
Go now, your heaven awaits

Empyreal flames
Of my own creation
I will wait forever
For my salvation

Before I surrender
My faith unto you
You who has taken
Everything
Track Name: Broken Hymns
With every passing day
I’ve endured my mistakes
And cursed the failing light
That is should forever fade
I stand now in the ashes
Of a world become a tomb
Every thought, another grave
Interred with memories of you

Bury me in my agony
Drown me underneath all that I’ve lost

I’ve grown tired of the light
Of holding on to ghosts
And longing for lost days
I’m faced with my failures
When I close my eyes
I’ll pray for all of this to end

Lowered down
Into the waiting Earth
A veil of soil
Concealing your pain
One day
I can only pray
That time corrodes
This memory of you

Cast away
From this grey world
Into oblivion
And constellations
Take this Earth
From beneath me
“Iris!”
“Please, come back to me!”

“Come back to me!”

I’ve grown tired of the light
Of holding on to ghosts
And, longing for lost days
I’m faced with my failures
When I close my eyes
I’ll pray for all of this to end
Track Name: Voices of Winter
Years have gone
I hide behind a face
That's not my own
Can no one hear me?
The night is long
It mocks my weary faith
I am alone
My god, why have you gone?

Voices of winter
Beckon me forward
Your words are ghosts
That haunt the frozen air
A fragile beacon that shines
Through this bleak nightmare

Restless hours
In tranquil decay
I wander the desolation
Where only ashes remain
This place once familiar
Is now long forgotten
Derelict arms reach out
In desperation

Buried alive
In the graves I have made
All that I know
Is this reverie

A vision of pale limbs
Frozen forever
Statuesque, as you
A monument to failure

This gathering darkness
Shall never depart
The misery of bereavement
Consuming my thoughts
This bitter season
Becomes my prison
Rending my heart
All hope departs

Buried alive
In the graves I have made
All that I know…
Track Name: Becoming Intangible
Waiting for the end again
The time has come to pass, my friend
Waiting for this final judgment
I’ve never felt this close to God

I can barely see the sun
I guess this path was truly flawed
Judgment comes with revelation
And, I’ve never felt so close to God

Waiting for the end again
Waiting for the end again
Waiting for the end again
Waiting for the end

Waiting for the end again
The time has come to pass, my friend
Judgment comes with revelation
I’ve never felt this close to God

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