Gates of Slumber - Doom from Indianapolis

Anyone familiar with these 3 guys from Indianpolis? I was reading some favorable reviews of their new album, Hymns of Blood & Thunder. Looks like they have another album out, Conqueror, and a boatload of e.p.'s. Sounds pretty decent to my ears. Reminds me a little of The Sword. And the lead singer/guitarist sports a bitchin' skullet.

http://www.myspace.com/thegatesofslumber

Any thoughts on these guys?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Anyone familiar with these 3 guys from Indianpolis? I was reading some favorable reviews of their new album, Hymns of Blood & Thunder. Looks like they have another album out, Conqueror, and a boatload of e.p.'s. Sounds pretty decent to my ears. Reminds me a little of The Sword. And the lead singer/guitarist sports a bitchin' skullet.

http://www.myspace.com/thegatesofslumber

Any thoughts on these guys?

If those asshats heard you say they sounded like The Sword, they would come to your house and rape your anus with the dead body of an emo kid.

Didn't I once talk about how these guys trashed me on the Hellride Music forums for giving The Sword's demo a favorable review? It's quality reading. Haha.

Either way, douchbags aside, they're a great band.

Sounds decent to me. The vocals are the weak link, IMO.




These guys look like they smell of chicken wings and motor oil.

But then again, The Sword is horrible generic crap (imo that is ).

The Gates of Slumber have gotten better and better. The first two records were solid doom platters, but the last two were really, really good.

By the way, Hymns of Blood and Thunder is their latest album. Conqueror was releases in 2009. Conqueror is their best album if you ask me. Children of Satan is an amazing song.

Dave the Boss wrote:

But then again, The Sword is horrible generic crap (imo that is ).

The Gates of Slumber have gotten better and better. The first two records were solid doom platters, but the last two were really, really good.

By the way, Hymns of Blood and Thunder is their latest album. Conqueror was releases in 2009. Conqueror is their best album if you ask me. Children of Satan is an amazing song.

So how many albums have these guys actually released? I thought it was only 2? I figured Hymns...was new, hence the reviews I've seen.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Dave the Boss wrote:

But then again, The Sword is horrible generic crap (imo that is ).

The Gates of Slumber have gotten better and better. The first two records were solid doom platters, but the last two were really, really good.

By the way, Hymns of Blood and Thunder is their latest album. Conqueror was releases in 2009. Conqueror is their best album if you ask me. Children of Satan is an amazing song.

So how many albums have these guys actually released? I thought it was only 2? I figured Hymns...was new, hence the reviews I've seen.

Nah, they've released a bunch. I have these:

Gates Of Slumber, The - Conqueror
Gates Of Slumber, The - From The Ultima Thule (Split w/Spiritus Mortis)
Gates Of Slumber, The - Like A Plaque Upon The Land
Gates Of Slumber, The - Split (7" EP w/The Dream Is Dead) (73 of 1,000)
Gates Of Slumber, The - Suffer No Guilt
Gates Of Slumber, The - The Awakening
Gates Of Slumber, The - The Ice Worm's Lair (12" EP)

And I don't have the new one, or some vinyl releases, and none of the cassette demos.

As for The Sword, I can't understand why anyone would call them generic and then praise The Gates of Slumber. While I won't disagree that The Sword is far from original, The Gates of Slumber sure as hell do nothing original or mind-blowing.

I have Conqueror, and it's good solid doom. But yeah, these guys do seem to take themselves a little too seriously. I don't know if they think doom by people that aren't clinically depressed is artistically invalid or what.

I have Conqueror and I agree it's a solid album also. I will be ordering Hymns Of Blood And Thunder soon.

Hymns Of Blood Thunder is decent. I don't like it as much as Conqueror.

I think most people's problem with The Sword is that they're hipsters that played in indie bands before doom became more popular a couple of years back. My main problem with them is the fact there isn't any power in the music. Not that The Gates of Slumber are treading new ground or anything, but they sure as hell deliver the goods.

Dave the Boss wrote:

I think most people's problem with The Sword is that they're hipsters that played in indie bands before doom became more popular a couple of years back. My main problem with them is the fact there isn't any power in the music. Not that The Gates of Slumber are treading new ground or anything, but they sure as hell deliver the goods.

And what indie bands did The Sword play in before? See, I've heard this before, yet no one can name these bands. And what is an "indie band" anyway? Another big argument is that they got signed right after they formed because they got to play SXSW thanks to being "privileged children." Nonsense, of course.

First off, the guys in the band are young, so if they didn't play in "heavy" bands early on, who cares? Secondly, they released two demos before being signed...to Kemado Records, far from a high profile major label. The band could have signed to Relapse, though, but chose a smaller indie label. Thirdly, when the hell did doom become more popular? Haha. Not that they're really a doom band anyway.

Anyway, I think they're a pretty heavy and powerful band. I find nothing to complain about. They kick ass.

Eyesore wrote:

Thirdly, when the hell did doom become more popular?

Yeah, if the Sword is trying to become successful by cynically exploiting metal, I have to say they're remarkably stupid because metal music is NOT popular. They'd have been better off becoming another Nickleback clone.

Anyway, about Gates of Slumber, I think they're alright but I'm not sure I'll ever buy their albums. Something's missing for me.

Apparently, these guys have called it a day...

Quote :

Karl Simon, vocalist/guitarist for for Indianapolis doomsters THE GATES OF SLUMBER, has posted the following message on the Hellride Music forums:

"Some of you may have noticed that Jason [McCash, bass] quit THE GATES OF SLUMBER this past week.

"So, yeah. it's done.

"I always said I'd never go on doing THE GATES OF SLUMBER without Jason. I don't think anyone ever really believed it, but yeah, it's done. I did start the band, but McCash has been my best friend for the last 20 years, the last 10 in this damn band. He wrote amazing music and was a killer person to be around on the road.

"Somewhere about three years back, shit started to change, and it's ended with him quitting. I'm sure he needs the break, probably from me... I'm starting to *kind of* get the hint.

"So yeah. It's done."

3 years on and I still never picked up anything from these guys. Might need to remedy that one of these days.

They were an excellent band, but all signs point to Karl being a complete douchebag as the reason they're no more.