At the end of May THE GATES OF SLUMBER will release their third album "Conqueror" via Profound Lore Records (North America) and I Hate Records (Europe). Luckily we were able to listen to the new stuff before the official release date. Karl (Vocals, Guitar) was so kind to answer some questions via Mail:
Hi Karl! First of all all i have to congratulate for your new killer album with The Gates of Slumber. Big thanx for sending it to me before the official release date. How do you feel with the new material on "Conqueror"?
"I'm very proud of the new stuff. We set out to take the epic and sprawling songs on Suffer No Guilt and boil it down to a digestible length. While we are all really, really proud of Suffer it was a long record, and it was our desire to capture an epic feel without going over the 10 minute mark... in the same way Rainbow was able to make music that was epic in scope and not in length, you know? I think that our efforts paid off in spades."
Where did the recordings take place and what can be said about the band's feeling and the workflow during the recording sessions?
"We recorded with Sanford Parker in his studio up in Chicago. We locked out 7 days and lived in there. It was 10 plus hours a day of work. The feelings were akin to being stretched out on the rack and burnt... to be blunt it was HARD work, especially the singing, that was the hardest. But at the end it was just awesome to hear what he did with our music... Sanford's a genius."
Listening to "Conqueror" I think about a strait Doom Metal album, but there are some very traditional Heavy Metal like songs on it too. Profound Lore Records describe it as "...a crushing and searing blend of traditional epic doom heavy metal essential". Do you agree with this and what do you think about putting The Gates Of Slumber into any music genres at all?
"I think it's as fair as any description that I've heard... the thing is that it's applied all along - since The Awakening. Doom Metal is Heavy Metal... the two can not be separated in my mind. You hear Black Sabbath, and you are hearing both; you hear Trouble and you are hearing both... .
While this might come as a bit of a shock to some dullards out there but I don't care about what someone else calls my music - never have. I know what I call it, and in the end that's all that matters to me. It's Conan, crushing doom metal..."
Who is mainly responsible for the song writing at The Gates Of Slumber?
"Jason and I pretty much split that duty up. But really the way we do things is we bring in a few riffs and just mutilate them, revising and re-revising until it's done."
Were all band members involved into the process of song selection and for what reason did the chosen songs make it on the album individually?
"We generally write for the record. Riffs or progressions that aren't worthy are exposed on a hillside early on. Our strongest point is that we have an instant and brutal quality control system, as a consequence we seldom ever introduce a song or proto-song that isn't going to make the record."
There are always little stories about your songs. How do real life experiences influence your lyrics? How about political, religious, mystical and fantastic contents?
"It's everything and nothing all at once really. Some songs are about trivial things, others are about deep social or personal issues this time out... in the past it's generally been me telling a story. This time though Jason's taken a bigger role in the lyrics and I've also broken my own rule and written a song about a personal issue. Generally, I start with a topic and I write the music to fit that topic and then craft the lyrics to fit the music. Sometimes it comes fast, and sometimes it comes slow. But almost every song is done that way."
Let all The Gates Of Slumber albums pass your mind and please tell us something about the musical development of the band. What is the evolution's key?
"A new drummer every time would have a lot to do with it... because I've had the same influences all along. I've really not changed my playing style too much. I'm more confident and I've toyed with newer scale forms that I base my soloing off of. And Jason and I have done this for so long now that I kind of know what he's going to do and I think he feels the same way. But with a drummer I try to play to their strong points and play along with them... so there are going to be slight differences with each line up."
What kind of music do you/the other band members prefer to listen to and what bands have mainly influenced The Gates Of Slumber's sound?
"Me personally, I listen to classic US metal mostly: Cirith Ungol, Saint Vitus, and Manilla Road: one of those bands will be played at least once a week. Also recently Late era Sabbath has been a huge obsession of Jason's and mine... we love the Tony Martin era. Also Deep Purple, Budgie, the Metal Blade era of Slayer, early Metallica. Cream. That's my kind of thing. Bob and Jason are pretty much the same... naturally they have their own tastes too - but we all rally around Sabbath and Dio solo stuff, Judas Priest... basically classic metal. I don't listen to a lot of new stuff anymore because I don't want to taint my own mind too much. But I do have my favorite new bands: Slough Feg, Orodruin, Ironsword..."
Enthusiasm is one clue for constantly making music in a band belonging to the so called Underground. How do The Gates Of Slumber manage solving typical problems like money, time and glory?
"I honestly don't know how the band keeps going. We just now had a budget that we could work with on this record! Before the deals were so slight that there was a lot of financial input from the band. Touring is not an issue really, between the door and merch we generally do pretty good... though in recent days we've had to become a bit more hardcore when it comes to money, as we just don''t have the flexibility we once did. In the end though, come hell or high water we'll be out on the road here in the US and in Europe."
The Gates Of Slumber were one of the main acts at the Doom Shall Rise Festival in 2007 (Göppingen/Germany). Did you enjoy playing the festival and listening to other Doom Metal bands? What was your favorite band and was there any musical surprise?
"Of course I loved closing the show, it was a big challenge to cap the evening off, one that I love the chance to take on, and I think the crowd was pleased with our performance. My favorite set of the fest other than ours was Forsaken... I also loved Earthride's set and Mirror of Deception, also Serpent Cult and Centurion's Ghost... Faith was really cool too! To be honest though I feel fests are cool, but not as cool as bands touring. For me I'd already done a full English tour and a couple of German dates by the time we got to DSR... the infamous play London then drive to Dover over night end up in France drive to Germany do a set pass out wake up and go bit had hit me hard. Two nights before I'd slept on the concrete of the parking lot! Touring creates a single mindset for me - I enjoy meeting people and talking to them and I like seeing the other bands, but my mind is always turning the set over and over. I''m on the road to play and that's the first and last thing on my mind all the time. I want to destroy the stage... hear the lamentation of the women as it were. So to a degree I can get lost in my own mind."
I think there is a special thing about the whole Doom Metal Underground and it's really true fans. How do you think about the scene and are there similarities/differences between the american and the european (especially the german) fans?
"As I really think about it the one thing that unites German and American doom fans is that they are willing to travel great distances to see shows. The last tours we did there were people who'd traveled hours by car to see us play, and that is why I think about the set so much... because if someone is going to take time out of their day to drive 4 hours to see The Gates of Slumber, it's our duty to play our asses off for them. But back to the question: the difference is that German doom fans are more rooted in true metal, they also give you more back. American fans seem to be reserved and withdrawn, as if you are being evaluated whereas European fans just want to headbang and get into it. I wish American fans could just let go, they'd get more out of shows. Maybe it's because it's more of a scene of musicians in the US? I don't know."
Unfortunately your whole european tour is cancelled and The Gates Of Slumber will even not play at the Hells Pleasure Open Air this summer. What are the reasons for this decision and are there further plans touring Europe with "Conqueror"?
"We were very broken hearted about this fact. But we had to face it: touring in the summer in Europe is very hard, and we need to hit a show a night - it's not an option for us to just play weekends and live in hotels the rest of the time... to keep the band on the road we have to play everyday. Hopefully we'll be able to make some of those fests up in the future, it was a very disheartening thing for me. We hope to be back on the road in Europe as soon as we can! Jason, Bob and I are constantly looking out for opportunities to tour both in the US and in Europe. But doing it with the backing of small labels that are REAL independents makes it very hard. Keep your eyes peeled, we'll be there soon."
What are your musical plans for the future? I think there are many freaks out there hoping for a few releases of The Gates Of Slumber to come out.
"Right now I'm working on songs for our next full length, the tone is darker than Conqueror... I want this next one to be the slowest, heaviest record we've done. Bob's strongest suit is assault and battery style drums and I want to focus on bringing out the most oppressive record we can make this next time out. I'd also like it to be a ''real'' concept record this time as well - in the past there have been natural similarities in the songs and in the lyrics that have spontaneously created a concept effect - this time I want the music and lyrics to mesh by design. I also feel that it's time to create a beast of a record that will kill fucking posers dead. Our 'To Mega Therion'."
At last I just have to thank you for answering my questions. What are your last words?
"Thank you for doing the interview, Mourner!!! Hope to see you on the road soon! Conqueror is going to be out in Late May on I Hate Records!"
