Thursday, June 2, 2011

Gates "The Prevailing Wind" cs



Gates
The Prevailing Wind
Astral Ra
(4)

I feel that when a lot of kids first got into Sunn0))) they probably saw how cool their records looked, how valuable they seemed to become on eBay, realized that it essentially was two guys with lots of amps and guitars and thought to themselves that they could do that just as well. This mentality produced a wave of doom drone a few years ago that, despite a few exceptions, was pretty awful. This is the same mentality that produced a ton of mediocre comics in the late 90's of people thinking that if you drew all scribbly, you could draw just like Dave McKean or Bill Sienkiewicz (I was definitely guilty of that). Luckily for me and those who have discovered Gates do not have to suffer through subpar ambient doom inspired drone. Although I feel i can definitely hear a Sunn0))) influence, Bryan W Bray is quite adept at creating his own unique soundscapes that range from very heavy and intense to subtle and contemplative. This cassette is some of the best work I have heard from him so far. Brutal and beautiful all at once. I would hunt this down immediately. The packaging is really nicely done as well. A pro printed double sided card with a wrap around piece of printed vellum. Excellent work from my new favorite Canadian.


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