Revelations - Gatekeeper

Revelations

Gatekeeper

by Lior "Steinmetal" Stein at 25 May 2017, 10:51 PM

The widespread swarm of 70’s driven bands reanimating the arts of vintage Rock has been spreading like locust in a wheat field, everyone wants a piece of the pie, leave their mark as torch carriers for a decade that was once nearly abandoned. The imaginary race of who sounds like the old days has been ongoing and head on. The Swedish REVELATIONS are certainly not the first band to commemorate the classic years of Rock and vintage Metal, especially if you referred to the old British invasion, yet they were able to make a name for themselves through their touring sheet. Recently the band released its debut album “Gatekeeper”, via their own label Revelations Music. If you are looking for classic authenticity, it might be within your grasp through this release.

REVELATIONS scattered themselves in a rather tight period as mid to late 70’s Rock or Hard Rock in Britain started to sound heavier, at times darker in comparison to the early flowery effect of the 60s, which pulled its weight on LED ZEPPELIN for instance, at least to some extent. If converting into years, let’s focus on the time period between 1974 and 1979. Between the cloudy haze of the doped BLACK SABBATH and the aboriginal stage of NWOBHM, in particular the roughness of the IRON MAIDEN debut album, the Swedes made their steps, reproducing the old sound and generated feel, nodding gloominess and escaping post boogie Rock. Therefore, “Gatekeeper” can be inferred as a patch of darkness molded with a distinct urban attitude.

Nearly everything sounded simple, to the point, basic Hard Rock sinking its teeth hard enough to be Metal. Even though there is no evidence of the twin guitar harmonies that eventually became one of the markers in British Metal, part of the riffery and the course of several of the songs made the picture clearer. The catchiness and stoned Rock approach inside “Shooting Angels” and “Everything To Lose” is a takeoff towards British Metal mastery that was key within IRON MAIDEN, BUDGIE and SAMSON for instance The most part of the riffs scaled BLACK SABBATH and RAINBOW, setting a tone to nostalgic Doom Rock / Metal, laying down a chilling atmosphere that is quite intriguing, a well-made revamp with a slightly better production at its hold. Songs such as “Grip of Darkness” and “Gatekeeper” would send you looking for answers in the past, portraying mystery and storytelling with an impressive performance and traditional patterned songwriting. Lastly, instrumentals are always a pleasure, and this band already proved itself at that by being a band for known vocalists. “Nowhere Near the Sun” gathers the wholesome of the band’s influences and delivers a mighty charge of hooking riffs and vintage beats.

The debut “Gatekeeper” would have probably made it within the old British relics. It captured the old spirit quite well, sticking to precedent values which some of them aren’t in the lexicon of nowadays music.