

vote
8.5
- Band:
Gates of Ishtar - Duration: 00:33:03
- Available from: 15/06/1996
- Label:
-
Spinepharm
Of bands that have achieved less than what metal literature could have been, and the Swedes Gates of Ishtar are fully part of it, without much reflecting on it. But be careful, we are not talking about absolute masterpieces that remained completely unknown, but rather of very good bands – with promising careers – which then never took off for various reasons; names that over time may have remained in some way 'hidden' to the listeners of the subsequent decades.
In the case of the Gates of Ishtar, the immobility that followed the publication of the splendid debut was perhaps the most important obstacle, thanks to the varied changes of training; Even the transition from the most central Spinefarm to a 'worker' label like the German invasion can have contributed to partly block its possibilities. In any case, when we are going to discuss “A Bloodred Path”, we turn to the decidedly 'happy' part of ours's career, or to the years 1995-1996 with the acclaimed demo “Seasons of Frost” and the Spinefarm contract.
The Finnish label, at the time, was publishing masterpieces such as Dark Tranquillità “skydancer”, “North from here” of the sentenced and “Forests of Witchery” of Thy Serpent. For their part, the Gates of Ishtar came from the famous demo that showed them as a very solid reality capable of inserting themselves in that Death metal of GorTheborg who was developing quickly thanks to Dark Tranquility (in fact), in Flames and Eucharist.
The four pieces of “Seasons of Frost” moved on a ringing metal, structured and epic, really very similar to the dark tranquility of the first three albums and to the flames of “Lunar Strain” and the mini “Subterranean”, but also showed debts towards the complex structures of the first at the gates and the Melodic Black Metal of people such as Dawn, Dissection, Sacramentum and Sacramentum and Sacramentum and Vinterland. We are talking about a school developed on a complex riff songwriting, restarts and a certain executive technique, without however resulting in progressive or in the properly technical death metal: the result is almost always memorized after a few listening, even if it is not always possible to distinguish real refrains.
“A Bloodred Path” is exactly this: the instrumental “Inanna” is a beautiful prelude that starts with battery fittings related to those of “Punish My Heaven” of Dark Tranquility, while “Where the Winds of Darkness Blow” is a model of Nordic aggression that will be well taken in the future several times also by the Children of Bodom. Proceeding with the songs, through the Gates of Ishtar the other typical element of the sound of G emergesorTheborg: the direct descent from the classic Heavy of the Iron Maiden and the NWOBHM, with the twin guitars, the bass in evidence and the epic ride to alternate with the typical fast times more Death Metal.
After repeated listening, “A Bloodred Path” is a disc-albeit complexly instrumentally-very easy to assimilate and, despite all its weak sides caused by the time that separates us from its exit (the cover, seen today, is decidedly cartoonque and could absolutely not compete with the most visible bands) has aged more than well, thanks also to the production of the famous tico -tic study (Demigod, Nazarene, Sonata Arcica).
As mentioned, after this album, the Gates of Ishtar continued with two other good works produced by the German Invasion (label with a certain flair, which at the time supported Mithotyn, the very first Cryptopsy, Defleshed and Infestdead), too many line-up changes and a reduced live activity, then ending up dissolving in 1998. In conjunction with the renovations of the mid-year, A reunion revealed, then faded with the death of the drummer Oskar Karlsson; It is news of a few weeks ago of yet another return and, according to them, of a new album. A little celebration would deserve it, after all.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM