Gates of slumber-Suffer no guilt re-issue

Deepsend
2012

Originally released in 2006 this album gets a re-issue from Deepsend records. Gates of slumber sometimes get multiple labels because they normally get to doom label which is deserved due to the thick slow riffage, but they certainly have a bit more of a classic metal sound as well. I liked their early albums, but for me this was the one where they opened up a little bit and began moving away from being just a doom band. So we get ten tracks with four being instrumentals and three are over ten minutes each. Plus a pair of tracks are about Conan the barbarian. I think this is the album where the band began to become something a bit more special. The three longer tracks "God wills at","Riders of doom" and "Suffer not guilt" all provide good canvases for the band to really explore and create some different and varied tones. They take full advantage of manipulating sounds and they take a few more risks as well. I enjoyed parts of songs where they forgot about sticking so tightly to a rigid structure and just played what felt right and went with it. There were definitely moments on this album where play from the soul and heart and that really shines through. This is definitely an album where they squeeze so much out of every note. Glad to hear this album again.