ALTA ROSSA – A DEFIANT CURE

(Andy Synn hopes you’ve saved some space in your year-end lists for A Defiant Cure)

As we approach the end of the year I should probably think about preparing for my annual “List Week”, wherein I take over the site with five days of posts rounding up the “Disappointing”, “Good”, and “Great” albums of the year (the ones I’ve heard enough to be able to form an opinion on, anyway) culminating in my “Critical” and “Personal” top tens.

But with everything that’s been going on recently I haven’t had the time or the energy to really get stuck in yet (which might be a problem, considering I plan on kicking things off on the 09th).

That being said, not having things set in stone yet means there’s still room for a few surprises to make an impact (and I plan on reviewing new, and upcoming, albums, right up until the start of “List Week”)… and one of those surprises which has the potential to massively shake up my “Personal Top Ten” is the recently-released second album from French firebrands Alta Rossa.

Dealing in a form of Sludge/Post-Metal that errs more towards the Hardcore-inspired end of the spectrum – think LLNN, Herod, and early The Ocean (i.e. when the band were at their best… yeah, I said it) – Alta Rossa hit hard and refuse to pull their punches on tracks like full-force, broodingly blackened opener “Exalted Funeral” and the edgy, electrifying “The Emperors”, which find the group swinging their sledgehammer guitars and spitting out their cathartic, confrontational vocals with violent, almost reckless abandon.

As punchy and pugilistic as the band’s sound is, however (and there’s no question that Alta Rossa came ready to fight) it’s also brimming with dark, desolate atmosphere, with moments like the gloom-shrouded mid-section of “Delusion” and the doom-laden vibes of “From This Day On” providing a bleak and brooding contrast to the chunky, churning guitars and restless, rapid-fire rhythms (with drummer Mathieu Martinazzo putting in a particularly eye-popping and energetic performance throughout the album).

And it’s this combination of palpable, physical weight and cerebral, psychological pressure – as epitomised by the gargantuan, groaning guitar work and hauntingly heavy, anxiety-inducing atmospherics of “The Art of Tyrant” (whose sinister, subtly melodic undertones provide a moody mirror to the track’s blistering, almost Blackened Hardcore influenced, aggression) and the volcanic burst and bloom of the sulphurous “Stratification” – which makes A Defiant Cure such an irresistibly intense listening experience.

It won’t be for everyone, necessarily, especially if you’re the sort of person who dislikes when the raw, emotive energy and defiant lyricism of Hardcore starts to infiltrate their Metal, but those who connect with this album will be in for one hell of a ride, equal parts primal, gut-level impact and deeper, darker soul-scarring slow-burn.

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