#5 - Top of 2018

Gatekeeper - East of Sun (Cruz del Sur Music)

Finally, reaching the Top 5 of 2018 (with some delays), we find these extraordinary Canadian heavy metallers with their first ever full length album titled "East of Sun". Initially created as a solo project back in 2009 by Jeff Black who now provides the rhythm guitars and backing vocals, the band is comprised of Jean-Pierre Abboud with his epic voice, Kenny Kroecher with some amazing guitar riffs, Tommy Tro in gallping drums and last but not least David Messier in the bass blending everything together into a unique and awesome release! Blasting in with a high pitched scream "Blade of Cimmeria" narrating the bloody deeds of the warrior yielding the blade of Cimmeria (the fictional land of Robert E Howard!) the record has a raw epic feeling that can be heard across all the songs. The low chanting in "North Wolves" along with heavy guitar riffs (and an acoustic mid-song interlude) add even more depth creating a grand vibe that is followed up by the highlight of the album "Warrior Without Fear" with an AWESOME epic chorus that is bound to stick to your mind! "Ninefold Muse" has a heavier doom rhythm that highlights the rough vocals and the melodic guitar riffs while the pace picks up again with heavy and speed metal riffs in "Bell of Tarantia" (and vocals during the song being surprisingly reminiscent of Falconer!). The titular track "East of Sun" starts like a power-ballad quickly developing into an epic heavy metal song worthy of gracing the album with its name. The epic warrior tale continues with "Swan Road Saga" (another album highlight) which has a great guitar interlude that is accompanied by ominous choirs and high pitched vocals and finally "Oncoming Ice" which showcases some breathtaking melodic riffing bidding an epic "farewell" to the listener! The album also has with two  interesting covers of "Death Rider (Omen)" and "Hall of the Mountain King (Savatage)". If you are a fan of epic heavy metal and  epic tale-spinning this is a highly recommended release!




97.3/100


Below is the official music video for "Blade of Cimmeria" and the official audio for "Warrior Without Fear".