Gates Of Eden - "Passage To Babylon"

Gates Of Eden are a project managed entirely by Sicilian multi-instrumentalist Tregor Russo, who played and recorded all the instruments at the Underground Music Recording Studio in Palermo (seven-string electric guitars, five-string bass, drums and other ethnic instruments including oud, wind chimes, whistle and bouzuki). Furthermore, Tregor is also a music teacher and artist in various fields. What comes to life in this second album from the Gates Of Eden project is a very particular form of gothic/progressive metal, based heavily on Middle Eastern scales which are thickened by the use of the seven-string guitar. It is therefore curious to hear typically Arabian pieces revisited in a heavy metal key. Revised in the sense that they were designed exactly this way, and it’s not something you hear every day.

The rhythms in this album also recall doom, even if in some cases we have heavy riffs that are placed on double bass carpets, as happens for example in “In the Garden of Dreams”, a very particular and progressive song between other. The voice is another peculiarity of this project, melodic and enriched by female choirs. But in general everything is special in this album because there can’t be too many terms of comparison to give you a precise idea of what you can find inside it. It’s definitely not extreme metal and it’s not metal in the strict sense, it’s something mystical that might not please everyone, but the desire to create something new is undoubted. Not only does the drums convince that they have been programmed well, but that they fail to give dynamics to certain passages.

It’s a shame for this small, big flaw, because with an imaginative drummer this album would have benefited quite a bit. In general this aspect penalizes the album, but in the end Gates Of Eden manage to convince and at certain points even surprise.

Tracklist:

1. Vision from the Mirror

2. In the Garden of Dreams

3. Glimpse at Eternity

4. When Mist Covers the Night

5. Enchanted Symphony

6. Through the Veiled Soul

7. Mirage

8. Caress of Your Breath

9. Sounds of Mystery

10. Lost Realms in the Fantasy