The best sort of death metal demo, or, first prompt from an ensemble is almost better off not finishing its thought but rather leaving a resonant enough work that the mind of the fan goes on echoing with the possibilities. Zagreb, Croatia-based death/doom metal quartet DECREPIT ALTAR do well to leave the skull half-cracked, all-pro but still searching in the dark on this impressive debut EP. Though ‘Egregious Defilement‘ treads through a familiar cavern of doomed and rot-stewing ritual this ultimately doesn’t detract from the morbid wonderment of their staggered and bleeding path through dimly lit corridor.

Decrepit Altar formed last year between folks involved in death/doom crew Metuzalem as well as the vocalist from death metal band Ka’rah who also serves as a bassist here. Each of those related bands are worth checking out via fairly recent releases if you’re interested in what else the Croatian underground has brewing. For this particular configuration they’re focused on a subterranean atmospheric death metal sound akin to the earlier, less abstract roll of Krypts and delivering an otherwise straightforward first showing. Though the atmosphere is pitch black and thickly coughed-up they’ve focused on steadier crawling doom metal riffcraft out the gates which rarely crosses the threshold beyond a mid-paced death metal movement here and there compared to say, the first LPs from Mortiferum or Rothadás who likewise rely upon heaving atmosphere for making their swings impactful.

Self-released digitally earlier this year and now getting the vinyl treatment ‘Egregious Defilement‘ is, again, entirely straight forward in its rolling boil through these three cavernous, doomed movements. The full deal is only about ~21 minutes in its stretch and while I would consider it an introductory, kind of no-frills statement foremost there is a sense of substance conveyed here in terms of the quality of their work, the depth of the atmosphere achieved alongside the linearly sorted riff progressions which amble through each piece. Trite as it might come across as commentary there is something to be said for just sounding as creeped and cavernous as this though it does help that Decrepit Altar do a fine enough job of leading the ear through their tunneling search with disorienting but not indecipherable path.

“The Festering Depths” reads as a despairing, tentative crawl through the dark where the path might be linear but there are a few sharper turns which echo different along the way. The more bluntly stated riffs here lack any sort of punctuative quality in transition and instead ring through, adding to the feeling that every corner hides a new menacing threat. As for the most compelling riffcraft overall I suppose by virtue of speeding up into a piling writhe for its introduction gives “Beckoning of the Moss Ridden Tomb” a leg up to start, landing on points of discord and wafting dread beyond, but “Fields of Flayed Skin” seems to be where Decrepit Altar have the most to say, or, the most hypnotic thread to revisit outside of the EP’s similarly strewn doomed chunking.

Decrepit Altar appear pretty pro here on this introductory set of songs and I suppose the next step is to find some matter of coloration, or directive in their realm that stands out a bit more than this starting point. That isn’t to say that ‘Egregious Defilement‘ isn’t well above-average out the gates, it fully is, but rather that its high potentiate is obvious enough to have already begun building high expectations for the path forward. Still, if they stick to this rumbling, darkly atmospheric vision and only tunneled deeper into the shadows I’d still be praising and listening. A high recommendation.

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