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The Gates of Slumber have been broken up for like six years, and with the death of original bass player Jason McCash, it seemed likely that was the end of it, but here we have a comeback album. This band has always been kind of hit or miss with me, as I love albums like Hymns of Blood and Thunder and Suffer No Guilt, their last album, The Wretch, was just dull.

It seems like Karl Simon's feel for good, groovy Doom riffs has not dimmed. His vocals were always a weak point, but he sounds better here than I think he ever has. The production is a little restrained, but then I always feel that way about this band—I want them to be rampantly heavy and they are obviously aiming for a retro sound more than being the heaviest they can be. This is rather short, and at just 35 minutes it is literally half the length of most of their old albums. Compositionally this is so like their old stuff it's like they were never away, and if you liked this band before, this is a solid return, even if it's not the magisterial album we might have hoped for.