LIVE AT CLUB COLECTIV, BUCHAREST

Altar of Plagues released this live show as a pay-what-you-want download in 2016, after they had broken up. For those who, like me, never got to see them live, this is probably the next best thing; the sound quality is fairly good as these things go (it's mastered loud, but what else is new for metal these days), and the performances are excellent. The band also chose some of its strongest material from its last two albums for the set list. There are a few songs I'd have liked to see ("Burnt Year", "A Remedy and a Fever", "Reflection Pulse Remains", and/or at least one cut from White Tomb or Tides would have been nice), but it's hard to quibble with the songs that are here, especially when they're performed this well. (Perhaps the band will humour us with a second live album to fill in some of the gaps one of these days.)

There are a few strange aspects to this release. One is the way the songs are divided. There are seven songs in the set list, but they're divided into three tracks. Additionally, although the band played continuously, there are fades to silence between each of these tracks (and as a result, "Part 2" and "Part 3" also repeat a bit of content between them). I had initially written some speculation as to why the band did this, but it didn't seem very interesting. Instead, I'll note the approximate lengths of each song as the band performed them (note that, since there are no gaps in the band's performance, this is somewhat subject to interpretation):

1. Mills (4:09)
2. God Alone (4:23)
3. Neptune Is Dead (16:46)
4. Twelve Was Ruin (5:10)
5. Scald Scar of Water (6:56)
6. Feather and Bone (13:35)
7. All Life Converges to Some Centre (11:05)

In any case, eccentric track division aside, this is a solid live album. Good sound quality, great performances, great set list, and an unbeatable price. This band is sorely missed.

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