Living Gate Returns to the Mainly Tuning Out stage so we can catch up on this excellent band. Previously I had shouted out their first single, the self-titled track "Living Gate", which was outstanding. They have dropped two more tracks from their forthcoming album 'Deathlust" which is being released via Relapsed Records on June 12th, 2020. It should be an exciting release.
If you're new to Living Gate, it is helmed by Lennart Bossu of Oathbreaker and Amenra, Wim Coppers of Oathbreaker and Wiegedood, Aaron Rieseberg of YOB, and Levy Seynaeve of Amenra and Wiegedood. This group of Doom/Sludge and Black Metal artists united over their communal love of classic Death Metal. From their Relapse Record page, "The band's ethos is wholly defined by the sound of the underground - purposefully devoid of over-polished, meticulously edited music, and eschewing athletic, sterile musicianship in favor of break-neck riffs." This captures the aesthetic of this group perfectly.
The first track featured today is "Heaven Ablaze" which was released May 4th, 2020. This track comes out swinging! Excellent tremolo riffs over classic blast beats. It is crushing and menacing. Quickly an excellent harmony riff takes over around the one minute mark. The drumming is tastefully done and sounds great. The middle portion of the track bounces around these moments of intense picked licks and mini breakdowns. It finishes with more reckless abandon and smashing riffs before ending abruptly.
In the info section of the YouTube video describes the sound as "unrelenting, raw drums, encircled by menacing riffs and heaving guttural orations." This really hits the nail on the head. After a few listens, definitely take some time to focus on the bass. Not only is the tone excellent, but it also adds a lot of depth to the overall sound. The music on this track captures the ethos of Death Metal and would probably take a veteran fan back to the days of swapping cassettes with friends to explore what's out there.
The comment section reveals some potential sources of inspiration for Living Gate as people were mentioning it reminded them of Suffocation and Incantation. I would agree with these observations, however, I don't think it's a bad thing. This is a group of Sludge/Doom and Black Metal musicians getting together to celebrate something they love, and they hit the mark extremely well.
The last track for today is the newest track from Living Gate, "The Delusion Of Consciousness" which dropped on May 26th, 2020. It hits with a super heavy riff that really gets the head bobbing. The band digs it as well because they live in it for nearly a minute. Honestly, they could have milked another 30-40 seconds out of it, because it's a tasty piece of music.
It switches over to a tremolo-picked guitarmony riff that floats over some excellent drums. It works so well. Around the two minute mark, it switches to a new riff that is deliciously jammy and hits the spot as far as what Death Metal can offer. It's another riff that I could have enjoyed for another 30-40 seconds were they to offer it.
At 2:48 the music switches to a menacing moment made up of minimal drums and a chugging bass/guitar line. These make up the foundation over which a climbing guitar solo plays over. The moment works well. Soon a second guitar joins in and an excellent harmony solo plays out until the song abruptly ends.
Honestly, the worst part of this song is how abruptly it ends. It could revisit moments from the beginning and middle again and I wouldn't feel like it was out of place. It doesn't feel like the journey is over when the song is over. Thankfully we live in a modern age and you can set the track to repeat, which works shockingly well if you want to get more out of this track. It is cyclical in nature, and if you dig the music, I'd suggest you try it.
The big take away is this is definitely some fresh music, even if it's a relatively old style of metal. Living Gate started with a goal and they deliver on it. If you haven't checked out these tracks, or the first one from Living Gate on the Living Gate YouTube page, check the links below. Like what you hear? Put in a pre-order and support some artists (you can even get it as a cassette to re-live the glory days of Death Metal).
Listen to "Heaven Ablaze" here
Listen to "The Delusion Of Consciousness" here
Listen to "Living Gate" here
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