GATES OF SLUMBER, THE - Hymns Of Blood And Thunder (2009) CD

Remember the time when Conan strapped your head to the Anvil of Crom, and then three bearded, burley bastards bludgeoned it to a bloody pulp using a giant hammer forged of Wrought-Iommi?  Well, it’s that time again as bruising Indianapolis bashers THE GATES OF SLUMBER deftly defy death on their latest volcanic eruption, Hymns of Blood & Thunder.
THE GATES OF SLUMBER encapsulate the metal experience for true believers.  The Indianapolis doom metal trio formed in the late 1990’s with the goal of creating a band whose sound delivered an updated take on the member’s long list of favourite Heavy Metal greats.  Weaned on Black Sabbath, St. Vitus, the melodic might of Iron Maiden and a host of classic bands from Thin Lizzy and Rainbow to Mercyful Fate, THE GATES OF SLUMBER draw deep from Heavy Metal's most powerful blood and deliver Doom in its purest form. 
The band’s hotly anticipated new album, Hymns of Blood & Thunder drops on the heels of the brightest and busiest year in the respected power-trio’s history; one that saw THE GATES OF SLUMBER pack clubs during its first U.S. headlining tour and land atop many year-end media polls with Conqueror, an album that was hailed as “a breath of fresh air within the Doom / True metal underground.”  The record placed at the #5 position in Decibel’s "Top 40 Albums of 2008" and made Village Voice Media’s "Top 10 Metal Albums of 2008", joining an impressive list of some of the genre’s finest including AC/DC, Judas Priest and Metallica.   
Now signed to the highly respected Rise Above Records, THE GATES OF SLUMBER unleashes its holy grail; the formidable Hymns of Blood & Thunder.  A mighty document of both powerful song-writing and instrumental skull-crushing, the album is heavy and chillingly bleak in an almost unrelenting way that hadn't been heard since Judas Priest's heyday (Sad Wings of Destiny, Sin After Sin, etc.).  Displaying a newfound focus and direction and demonstrating a very compelling emotional range, THE GATES OF SLUMBER have upped its levels of both technique and melody, resulting in an album that is at once frighteningly dark in its effect, tight in its grooves and unrivalled in the sheer power of its jackhammer guitar riffs, all of which stamp the record an instant classic!
THE GATES OF SLUMBER has clearly become a new American voice for Underground Metal, and has done so with maximum conviction.  With plans for serious worldwide touring on behalf of Hymns of Blood & Thunder, THE GATES OF SLUMBER is out to show why it is regarded as one of the most talked about heavy metal bands of our time

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 & Thunder