Rating: 9.3

Country: USA

Release Date: 2006

Track list:
1. Angel Of Death
2. Suffer No Guilt
3. Gemini
4. Riders Of Doom
5. Slay The Weak
6. Wyrmwood
7. Dweller In The Deep
8. Children Of The Night
9. God Wills It
10. The Woe Of Kings

Band Website: The Gates of Slumber

The Gates of Slumber - Suffer No Guilt

Karl Simon- Vox, Guitars
Jason McCash- Bass
Chris Gordon- Drums

After months of feverish speculation/anticipation on the Hellride forums, and the sublime 'God Wills It' 12 inch as an appetite-whetting hors d'oeuvre, the new Gates Of Slumber record has finally been liberated from that impossible nebula of the printing press. What a revelation it is, too- in so many senses, this record marks a bold new chapter in a career that has been staunchly linear up to this point, the band opting to guide the listener through a host of forking, divergent side-roads instead of stampeding mono-maniacally down the nightmarish paths that Saint Vitus, Celtic Frost and Nemesis have blazed before them. It would be foolhardy to suggest that TGOS ever suffered a dearth of identity- from the get-go the band have flaunted a traditionally-minded, but uniquely phrased take on doom classicism that is entirely removed from the Pentagram and Candlemass facsimiles of modern-day doom, but Suffer No Guilt undoubtedly sees the band mining exciting new territories, some of which, admittedly, are a bit too wild for this reviewers' tastes. Yet, with each listen 'Suffer No Guilt' works its mesmeric charm on me, coercing me to suggest that while this record might not have quite the immediate visceral impact of 'The Awakening' or 'Like A Plague Upon The Land', it might very well prevail as the most enduringly challenging work that the band have issued to date.

One certainly would not be able to discern this from the strident trample of “Angel Of Death”, the trite name of the track veiling one of the most unapologetically intense numbers in the TGOS canon- fusillades of propulsive percussion shore Karl/Jason's galloping, fiercely rhythmic riffing (a trademark TGOS characteristic) and one of Karl's rawest vocal performances to date (there does not appear to be as much reverb here). What follows is an excruciating exercise in contrast- perhaps the most Vitus -inspired composition TGOS have offered to date, the Cimmerian war cry of “Suffer No Guilt” is a lumbering, agonizing plod through cyclopean, leering masonry erected by Dave Chandler. 07:23 through, the despondent dirge snowballs into an antagonistic avalanche, accentuated by torrents of punishing, HARD-hitting rhythms, currents of filthy, bog-dipped bass and lashes of red-hot wah-wah magma. Bloody fucking fantastic, and an exemplar of the rampaging dynamism that TGOS are capable of.

Now here's my beef with the record- following the MONOLITHIC “Suffer No Guilt” is an effective, downtrodden-sounding reprieve, “Gemini”, which is but one of the chancy instrumental interludes on the recording. While “Gemini” conjures images of war-stricken, corpse-strewn battlefields, however, the backwards guitar and haphazard tom-thumping of “Wyrmwood” (which, presumably is a musical sketch on forages through weird woodlands) cries self-indulgence and redundancy. “Children Of The Night” (based on the Kull tale, folks?) takes an interesting enough angle- a classical guitar ditty infused with medieval melody, but ultimately doesn't have much of a point, while the almost Summoning or Pazuzu-esque conclusion of the record (“The Woe Of Kings”) brings the proceedings to a somewhat perplexing/awkward close, occupying 5 minutes that could otherwise be devoted to more DOOM.

Thankfully, there is more than enough heavy-handed, mace-flailing riff-flinging to go around on the rest of the recording- “Riders Of Doom” opens with a somber, contemplative bassline and ornate trickles of jazzy guitar, escalates into a brooding, mournful threnody (fantastic, smouldering lead work here, too) and then EXPLODES into a malevolent MAELSTROM of axe-wielding RIFFS. I do suggest that you listen to this particular track within the confines of your own home- through the course of this song I was seized by the irresistible urge to lodge my fist in the face of a neighboring whelp. Such is the ROUSING, PRIDEFUL quality of TGOS, bastions of a faith kindled and kept alive by a meager, dwindling order of torchbearers- folks who live, breathe and bleed HEAVY METAL. In an intimate ode to these kindred spirits, the uplifting 'Into Glory Ride'-esque call-to-arms that surfaces 7 minutes through (possibly the most unabashedly anthemic passage in TGOS' discography thus far) paves the way for an exquisite, Lynott-y vocal/guitar melody that glimmers brilliantly before fading back into the assertive tug of the main hook, which affectionately references both Thulsa Doom's ushers of decay and the knights of the hallowed Circle Of True Doom, a network of modern-day marauders striving to preserve the chastity of HEAVY DOOM in a daunting age defined by hipster nihilism and jaded cynicism.

“Slay The Weak”, meanwhile, boasts perhaps the most expressive solo to grace a TGOS track to date, Karl's guitar cutting swathes through the claustrophobic haze to punctuate the song with a terse, but effective and exquisitely tuneful solo. The emphasis here, really, is on crafting enduring, fluent SONGS, as opposed to a slipshod pastiche of fragmented, derivative riffing (exactly where most ‘'traditional doom'' bands fall on their faces). The band's boldest venture to date, the 20 minute long “God Wills It”, suffers slightly from the small pockets of extraneous flab that it carries on its otherwise sinewy frame (I do think that 3 or 4 minutes could have been excised from this one to make it sound even more focused, but that's just me…and hey, Jason, that bass intro reminds me of “Master Of The Pit”, hah!), but otherwise it registers as a genuine success on the band's part- the 20 minute track is always a contentious endeavor, and often the mere mention of such a development suggests brazenness, impudence and pretension on the band's part. The accompanying booklet outlines that this is a pursuit that the band do not take lightly- the smothering conviction of the track is underlined by the band's intense disdain for political correctness in an age of religiously-inspired atrocities, the obscuration of truth by various doctrinal smokescreens. In a mockery of such farcical events, the music here is ritualistic and austere, Karl's vocal line assuming the guise of a catechismic, monochromatic monody, a Black Priest unraveling painful revelations to a congregation mired in the deluge of guilt and denial that has characterized the modern age.

In most every sense, this is a modern classic that should be enshrined with the likes of 'Epicurean Mass', 'In The Rectory Of The Bizarre Reverend', 'With Vision', 'Jug Fulla Sun', 'Eternity Revealed', 'Ringmaster' and the like as sonic scripture for all aspiring disciples of the doom faith. There is scarce doubt in my mind that the songs presented here are the most accomplished, most fully-realised numbers that TGOS have thrust forth to date- gone is the single-minded, iron-mallet bludgeon of yore, the band meshing that barbaric bloodlust with a meditative introspection and variegated songcraft that speaks volumes about the growth they've undergone as a band. In an age stifled by pretension and artifice, the unbridled vigour and HONESTY of TGOS alone should send you scampering to the procure this slab- smug, self-aware satirists can lampoon us all they want, but as long as the like of TGOS persevere in exemplifying the mores of heavy metal, its immortality is assured. The mix of the record alone amplifies this stark earnestness- some sections of this record resemble a live recording more than a studio outing, the band establishing a heartrending intimacy with the listener that is really quite disarming/refreshing in an epoch where bands estrange themselves with triggers and slick studio wizardry. I continue to have reservations about the instrumental interludes, but there hasn't been a record that has made me this PROUD to be a metalhead in some time. That is the highest praise I can accord to any musical product.

September 3rd, 2006