GATEKEEPER - From Western Shores
Cruz Del Sur Music
So a few years ago (2018 to be exact) this Canadian band came out with their full length debut, East of Sun. Musically it was in the vein of that past epic heavy metal sound. Yeah I'd also say they were leaning into power metal. Toss in some MANOWAR influence as well as some others, yeah too many to name, and you had a decent album. Yeah it was cool and had plenty of variety in the song writing style.
The band's mainman, guitarist Jeff Black, had started GATEKEEPER in 2013. Their debut EP, Prophecy and Judgement, from that year is still highly praised to this day. So when I saw that this new album was coming out I was seriously interested. Then I started listening to the release and thought hey this is different. Yeah in the interim between albums Jeff Black made some line-up changes.
For starters you've got new vocalist Tyler Anderson who I'll say is better suited for the whole power metal sound then previous singer Jean-Pierre Abboud. Also there's a new guitar slinger in Adam Bergen who replaces Kenny Kroecher. The rhythm section of bassist David Messier and drummer Tommy Tro are still in the fold.
Listening to this album I'm automatically reminded of how ICED EARTH and HELLOWEEN started out but made subtle changes in their progression soon afterward. GATEKEEPER is in that vein of moving forward from just being a cool sounding throwback act to full on power metal greatness. OK sure I'm pushing the hyperbole again so they're not in that camp of major greatness yet. But From Western Shores puts them in the fight for 2023 at least.
There's eight cuts on here. The album opens with the title track. It's a powerful one and when the chorus hit I was like hey that's a different singer. Of course musically it's great with a solid guitar solo. What follows is a mix of melodic numbers with a slice of viciousness here and there. Jeff Black delivers on some solid riffs throughout. But I got to give it to the additions of vocalist Tyler Anderson and guitarist Adam Bergen. They've made this band better.
https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/
LISTEN HERE:
https://gatekeeper.bandcamp.com/album/from-western-shores
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