### The Gates Of Slumber: Hymns of blood and thunder

#### 30/11/09 || Khlysty

From its earliest days, heavy metal displayed a great fascination with all things fantastic. From Black Sabbath’s proto-satanism, to Led Zeppelin’s pseudo-mysticism and Judas Priest’s morbid focus on death, metal’s lyrical content was clearly infused with a love for the fantastic. So, is it any wonder that many bands turned towards the writings of the late, great Robert E. Howard and his Conan of Cimmeria sword-and-sorcery adventures for inspiration? The setting, full of swords, bloodshed, battles of cosmic scale, witches, hexes and barely-concealed sex is a real treasure-trove for any aspiring metalhead.

The warrior blinked and looked around him. The small band of stone-trolls was lying on the barren earth, polluting it with their greenish-black ichor-like blood. A dark smile creased the Warrior’s blunt facial features: the stone-trolls had defied his broadsword’s might and they had paid dearly for their audacity. The Warrior turned toward the smashed, gashed bodies of the stone-trolls that, moments ago had attacked him; he knew that, usually, their hiding place was close to the territories they preyed upon. So he searched for a survivor. He smiled again. Stone-trolls were hardy creatures, but he had ways to make even a rock spill his guts. He would learn of the hiding place and the treasures heaped therein…

The Gates Of Slumber is one of the bands that wears its heroic influences proudly on its sleeve. From the cover art to the song-titles to the lyrics, everything shouts, as in-your-face as possible, that this is going to be a real joyride, full of scantily-clad ladies, warriors, broadswords, monsters, blood, hidden treasures, evil magic, fantastical landscapes, heroes, villains, kings, epic battles and more, all wrapped-up in a bone-and-gristle framework of as-trad-as-it-gets doom metal, that, even when it tries to update its sound, doesn’t hide its obvious influences from their ‘70s and early ‘80s forefathers.

“You are ascared of me”, said the witch with a happy smile on her face. “I am ascared of no-one”, retorted the Warrior, lowering his broadsword. “The things I’ve done and seen, the evils that I have fought against… these things make you impervious to fear. ‘Specially when the one who’s trying to scare you is just a waif who thinks that she’s a great witch”. The woman, if offended, didn’t show it. Instead, she began untying the rope that held her robe into place. “If you’re not ascared of me, then why don’t you leave your sword and come lie with me near the fire? It’s a cold night out there”, she said as the robe slipped off her pale body.

“Hymns of Blood and Thunder” is the band’s third album, since 2000, when the group was formed and, not having heard anything from their past works, I’m gonna deal solely with the material at hand, which is not bad at all. Of course, the Gates Of Slumber really try to sound as true to their roots as possible. So, one can easily discern the Uriah Heep/Cirith Ungol/Pentagram/St. Vitus/Black Sabbath over- and undertones which permeate each and every song. Is this a bad thing? Well, no. See the trio uses everything to its advantage, showing great verve and passion in its performance.

The Black Man approached the Warrior. In his hand he held the red-hot pincers. “O, great Warrior”, said the Vizier in a voice that dripped malicious intent, “you see now the wrong of your ways. You thought that with your sword at hand you were invincible. But there are many ways to skin a cat and many ways to make a warrior part with his sword. Look at you now. Tied, helpless, at the hands of your greatest foes and the Black Man is ready to part your flesh from your bones, in a way that would make even the torments of hell a great respite for you”. The Vizier looked at the Warrior hungrily. “The Black Man is a master of pain”, he said. “But, you might be able to avoid the torture. Just tell me where the Spring of Eternal Bliss is, and your life is still in your hands”.

Basically, the 10 songs that comprise “Hymns Of Blood And Thunder” are testaments of great Heavy Metal. The band doesn’t experiment or tweaks with its sound. This is as straightforward as it gets. But it’s also powerful, energetic, well-played, well-paced and persuasive to the point that after a few listens I started looking for my shield and mace and started thinking that, hey, maybe I’m right, maybe my neighbors really are stone-trolls that need to be killed. The sound is inevitably epic –courtesy of a rich Sanford Parker production- and the songs rip and roar with verve and pathos. Yes, this is trad and old-fashioned and it doesn’t really matter. This is Heavy Metal. Take it or leave the fuck out of here, okay?

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Rise Above
- Website: The Gates Of Slumber MySpace
- Band
- Karl Simon: guitars, vocals
- Jason McCash: bass
- Bob Fouts: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Chaos calling
- 02. Death Dealer
- 03. Beneath the Eyes of Mars
- 04. The Doom of Aceldama
- 05. Age of Sorrow
- 06. The Bringer of war
- 07. Descent into madness
- 08. Iron Hammer
- 09. The Mist in the mourning
- 10. Blood and Thunder