The Seven Gates - Angel of Suffering

Release Date: May 12th, 2009
Label: Heavy Artillery Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Angel of Suffering
2.  Pressure
3.  Gehenna's Sword
4.  All is in All
5.  The Serpent's Wheel
6.  Selen
7.  Quake of The Hammer
8.  Temple of Ashes
9.  No Salvation
10.  Kingdom of the Lost

Total playing time:  43:41

April 5, 2010

Reviewer: Matt

Here’s a new dog with old tricks that’s the sincerest form of flattery for Morbid Angel, so much so that you’ll wonder that The Seven Gates didn’t invent a letter between “C” or “D” to appropriately title this debut full-length.  It has a lot of heart, but not a lot of balls, because while skillfully prepared it doesn’t even attempt to be something that anyone who’s listened to more than five death metal albums in the past fifteen years hasn’t heard. 

Considering the broader musical climate, it’s always pleasant and encouraging to hear a new death metal band that’s neither trendwhoring nor so pretentious you pass out in your own vomit, and French bands have a proclivity toward both.  At the same time, the ability to play a guitar competently doesn’t justify starting a band, and you won’t see any copies of “Starry Night” hanging in the Museum of Modern Art. 

You get all the requisite elements: choppy and thrashy head-bangers, blocky mid-paced fist pumpers, a diehard dedication to the Tampa ethos.  There’s a wealth of sharp leads and slick melodies and enough moderately interesting riffs to keep your finger off the stop button for a listen or two, but Angel Of Suffering ultimately relegates itself to filler status.  Most of the genre’s original purveyors are still going strong, and even if their current output pales in comparison to the classics, they paid their dues two decades ago, and this Johnny-come-lately can’t rise far above redundancy in style or substance.

A curious conclusion to come to is that Angel Of Suffering is substantially better than most new death metal I’ve heard, but at this stage The Seven Gates aren’t ready, willing, or able to step out of the shadow of their influences and take their obvious songwriting talent to the next level. With the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression in full swing still it’s hard to justify shelling out that twenty bucks you’ll need to cover your increased insurance premiums.

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