Gates of Slumber - Conqueror
June 26 2008 at 06:09:30 AM
Heavy Metal. The Lancer edition.
One can marvel at Vebjorn Strommen’s lurid cover art for Gates of Slumber’s much-lauded third effort, but make no mistake about it: while
Conqueror proudly wears its Metalness on its sleeve, underneath that bold exterior lies one of the most nuanced albums of its kind. For all of its bruising intensity, what stands out most and to its greatest advantage is the complex variation of moods on display. The soothing breaks interrupted by crippling marches, euphoric riffs leading into eldritch refrains. The stories voiced through visions and meditations on the role of heroes, the rule of force, and the certainty of death; the warrior-king carrying sword and satchel, handfuls of black lotus tucked into his boot.
Based in-part on characters born from the fantastic and tormented mind of Robert E. Howard, as well elements of Arthurian legend, an hour of
Conqueror becomes as enveloping as a full-blown concept album without the kind of prolix that tends to overwhelm the music itself. It stands as intoxicating, steeped in tradition and strong enough to overcome a mere glossing of the subject as pure nostalgia.
To be sure, the album’s soul resides in the guitar’s deceptively smooth and rich vintage tone, pouring on viscid melodies that harden into a ruthless gallop in opening number “Trapped in The Web”; traversing epic dirge and sullen groove alike inside pieces like “Eyes of the Liar” and the title track. But
Conqueror differs as much in setup as well as sound, following in the footsteps of St. Vitus in allowing the bass and drums to shine equally - and by “shine” I mean dirtying that shit up a bit - bumping heavy with guitarist/vocalist Karl Simon riddling steel at the helm. The absence of any rhythm guitar during the leads quickly becomes one of the group’s most alluring traits. And although Simon’s vocals have less of the iconic and immediate effect of a Mike Scalzi or Phil Swanson, there is no doubt that these perfectly illustrate and propel Gates’ particular stories of swords, sorcery and dark kingdoms below the earth. Try to still yourself during the rising chorus to “Ice Worms Lair,” with Simon as black wizard crooning how the Cimmerian’s “White hot axe splits the air.”
Not all of Gates of Slumber’s ideas spring from the age undreamed of. “Children of Satan,” the album’s fastest and most aggressive track (though still a little too upbeat considering) is based on the current war in Darfur. And though I tend to shudder when bands set themselves up to be dated by indulging in headlines, the song at least takes on the album’s theme of power and helps ground these ideas a little deeper in reality. It’s not completely necessary, but neither is it unfocused. Closer to home is “The Machine,” which uses oppressive and dire riffing to illustrate the everyday slavery of being just one of a million nameless gears. However, it’s not long until band returns to their main source of inspiration.
The second half of the album's sprawling finale, “Dark Valley Suite,” is composed entirely of Howard’s poem “Lines Written in the Realization That I Must Die,” published posthumously in
Weird Tales after the author’s suicide in 1936. With a soft, elegiac and still trembling voice spoken over but a few discordant chords, Simon delivers his muse back to the darkness:
"Towers shake and the stars reel under,
Skulls are heaped in the Devil's fane;
My feet are wrapped in a rolling thunder,
Jets of agony lance my brain.
What of the world I leave forever?
Phantom forms in a fading sight-
Carry me out on the ebon river
Into the Night."
After which the band resumes, once more battling toward an anguished crescendo that finally ends
Conqueror’s noble quest: The ever-difficult task of first knowing and then claiming one’s own kingdom. Highly Recommended
[Todd DePalma]
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