Of all the new bands trying to cash in on the brutal death/hardcore mash-up trend, this is the worst I’ve heard so far. I’m appalled a record of this low quality is on Nuclear Blast. I know they sign some bad bands to jump on bandwagons, but this is bad right down to the production quality and playing ability. It makes SANGUISUGABOGG and BONGINATOR look like ATHEIST.
I like death metal and hardcore when they are primitive and to the point. This is DUMB, not primitive…an onslaught of uninteresting riffs, lobotomized breakdowns that have been done over and over for 20 FUCKING YEARS, those annoying pinch harmonic “zippazoo” noises that I’ve always disliked and bland tough guy vocals. The album is short, but not short enough…it was long enough for me to get bored. Is the aggression there? I guess so, but at the most basic level. It doesn’t penetrate the cortex, it doesn’t register. A song fades into nothingness as soon as it is finished.
It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced a record that doesn’t have a single memorable or original riff. Well, that drought is over. Who produced this thing? It’s got no punch and the drums sound like they were recorded a year later than the rest of it. When I think of all the great underground bands I’ve heard that struggle to get signed or to draw 50 people to a club, and then I see GATES TO HELL signed to a big label with a strong push, it makes me want to cry.
Enough of this. Avoid, there’s so much better out there.
Review By: Dr. Abner Mality
GATES TO HELL
Death Comes To All
Nuclear Blast Records