The Gates Of Slumber Self-Titled CD Review

The last time I heard anything from the Indiana Doom Metal band, The Gates of Slumber was The Wretch in 2011. And then a few short years later, the band lost pivotal member Jason McCash, and the band was no more. You can imagine my surprise when I opened an email telling me the band was back and with a new album to boot. I couldn’t get it downloaded fast enough.

Doom Metal without purpose is less than thrilling, but that’s never been the case with The Gates of Slumber, they’ve always been self-aware and have always paid homage to those who came before them. If you’re familiar with Cathedral, Saint Vitus and of course Black Sabbath then you know what you’re going to get – a face full of crushing riffs and the slow impending feeling of DOOM!

The band’s latest effort is Self-Titled and doesn’t disappoint in the least, as a matter of fact it scratches all the itches that this genre has to offer. Blistering leads and riffs so heavy that it could crush the world. Another thing to note is that the album doesn’t linger on with long boring songs that constantly play on ad nauseam, the band is in and out in a little over 35 minutes so there’s no way to get bored. The Horror fan in me is deeply amused by the band’s homage to John Carpenter’s movie, The Fog, as they’ve added a track of the same name based off the movie. It’s not often I get to hear a track like this, specifically about this movie. It’s recorded well and the band fires on all cylinders and really captures the vibe of the movie. “The Plague” is another track that stands out as it covers “the black death”. What’s not to love about a song on the Plague?! “At Dawn” is another tune that’ll please Horror fans – “At Dawn We Rise”! This track moves along at a fevered pace considering we’re talking Doom Metal.
 
I didn’t expect another album from The Gates of Slumber, I certainly didn’t expect one that would be so well rounded and recorded. This album is polished, you can tell the band was rehearsed and ready to record. I tend to lose interest in Doom Metal albums a lot of the time due to boredom, but this one had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and I've listened to it several times since I got it. Another thing that really kept my interest peaked was the Cathedral influences heard on the album – they stand out big time to me, but I’m a Cathedral fanatic. I also hear Trouble influences. I didn't really notice the influences on the band's previous efforts, but this time, I do which is always a good thing, specifically when we're talking Cathedral and Trouble! I look for this album to be a big come back for the band. Considering the landscape of Doom Metal lately, this album will stand out heads above the rest!

~Black Angel