The Final Witness, the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Josh Henderson, first came to the attention of many metal fans with a powerful and imaginative reworking of the traditional Christmas carol, ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’, which was part of Rottweiler Records series of seasonal singles released over the festive period last year. Since then, devotees of music that balances intensity and muscle with adventurous, creative spirit have been waiting with great anticipation to see what Josh and The Final Witness can deliver over the course of a full length album. That wait is now over and Beneath The Altar is ready to be unleashed – delivering so much more than anyone could have expected!

From its first note to its last, Beneath The Altar shows that Josh Henderson is not simply a skilled practitioner of the extreme metal arts. Yes, these songs deliver devastating heaviness – riff after monstrous riff – and yes the lead guitar work is exceptional in its nimble-fingered dexterity…but there is as much emotion as technique, as much atmosphere as neck-snapping attack. Songs like ‘Negative World’ and title track ‘Beneath The Altar’ are multi-faceted gems, with so many different aspects, tempos, shifting moods…but each step in their complex dance moves smoothly from one to the next, threads of melody binding them, entwining them. What initially shocks on wilfully idiosyncratic opener, ‘Principalities’ becomes natural and understood as the album progresses to its wonderfully emotive, monumental conclusion, ‘The Blood’. This is an album to be appreciated as a whole, to be listened to with focus and attention and the gifts that it offers in return are remarkable.

The expert production and engineering knowledge of Becoming The Archetype’s Jason Wisdom have blessed Beneath The Altar with a fitting stage on which to perform – space for the instruments to breathe and the contrasting, complimenting sections of sound to mesh, blend and retain their distinct qualities. This first stunning album to march beneath the banner of The Final Witness will be released by Rottweiler Records on August 15th and there will be few releases this year that can match it for creativity, individuality and imagination.

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