The odyssey that culminated in the release of Hallowed, the first album by Portland doom metal quintet Alltar (often stylized as A//TAR), followed a similar path that many of the band’s songs do. It started off slowly, with guitarist Tim Burke teasing out musical ideas—glassy, turgid melodies augmented by synth drones and soundscapes—as a sideline to his other band Hound The Wolves. Eventually, other players floated into and out of his orbit before settling into the lineup that helped record Hallowed, including his HTW bandmates Juan Carlos Caceres on Moog and vocals and Nate Wright on drums. The music they wrote and recorded together became full and heavy and loud. When tsunami-like tunes such as “War Altar” and “Induction” are cresting, with Burke and guitarist Colin Hill oozing chords together as the rhythm section lumbers beneath them, it’s both awesome and fearsome.

Even at full strength, Alltar were stuck in a holding pattern for all of last year. They finished the sessions for Hallowed in 2018, but the label that was set to release the album went under.

“We’d been waiting for months and months,” Burke remembers, “and then we had no label and no plan for release. Some of the guys wanted to throw this thing online right away, but cooler heads prevailed. I wanted to spend some time so we could do the release properly.”

The decision was a smart one as anticipation for Hallowed has been building within the Portland metal scene for a while, fueled by the group’s electrifying live performances and knowing what its members were capable of through their work in Hound The Wolves. Now that it is out in the world, self-released by Alltar on CD and digitally, it feels, says Burke, “like the end of a marathon.”

“Of course, it’s not really the end, either,” he continues. “It’s the middle of the marathon.”

In other words, it’s Alltar hitting their stride and heading toward some elusive finish line. At the moment, that path involves a West Coast tour, which kicks off tonight with a show at The Fixin’ To. But they already have a collective eye set toward what comes next. The wait to release Hallowed gave the band ample time to work on new material, which they are hoping to record soon. There’s talk of releasing some videos at the start of next year, and then looking to get booked on some festivals in the summer of 2020. After a number of false starts and small stumbles, they’re on their way and building momentum.

“Part of being an independent musician is never giving up,” Burke says. “We never stop writing, which is what every band should do. It’s the part of the band that everyone really enjoys. There’s a certain rush to creating something, even if it isn’t want it could be eventually, you still get that excitement that wells up and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is something really cool.’”

(Thurs Sept 19, 9 pm, The Fixin’ To, 8218 N Lombard, $8, w/ If This Be Doomsday, Skulldozer)