Metal is often at its best when it’s unpredictable. While it has a certain character that makes it black metal or death metal, it helps to have an extra element of artistry that makes it engaging and worth revisiting. And this is what makes a band like Gates of Dawn so interesting. And it’s why Decibel is stoked to premiere the band’s upcoming new album in its entirety.
On the band’s latest album, III, the black metal atmosphere is delivered through a psychedelic haze and a noisy quality that actually reminds me a lot of early Dinosaur Jr. There’s a lot going on, and you’re never sure what direction the band will go in next. And that’s kind of the point, the music works like a trippy jam session that coalesced into a set of solid works, rather than a set of carefully constructed songs that adhere to a rigid format.
According to the band:
“With III, we really captured the experience of our live shows on record. Recorded all at once in the same room, full volume, no headphones or click tracks, no splicing, just full takes straight to tape. This is the first Gates of Dawn record that features material that has been worked on and iterated on for over a year. Improvisation, or “jamming” is at the core of what we do, and while these songs have continued to grow and evolve after the recording, they prove to be a great representation of our ethos. The artwork was created by individuals (Sindre Foss Skancke, Rachel Raskin, Visions Noires) obsessively listening to the album while putting ink to paper, which really manifested a sort of hallucinogenic hive mind that extends from the audio realm to the visual, and is all presented in a glorious gatedfold LP sleeve from Death Hymns.”
III comes out this Friday via Death Hymns. Stream the album in full below!
The post Album Premiere: Gates of Dawn – “III” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.