Gates to Hell are serving blow-your-head-off metal in their second feature length LP Death Comes to All, with the technical prowess to boot. They lay the rage down across 10 quick tracks, then pack up as soon as they arrived, and manage to leave a listener wanting for nothing but waiting for more - a purgatory perfectly fitting the concept of this project.
Album opener 'Rise Again' kicks things into high gear immediately, with Story’s vocals jumping straight into this piece of wonderfully structured chaos. Apparent first in this track then throughout the project is the command of pace and tempo that Gates to Hell enjoy; they hop between thrashy punk and tension-building pre-breakdowns without a thought. It doesn’t take them long to get to their standout tracks either, with second offering ‘A Summoning’ slowing it down slightly to make room for the first of Garris’ ankle breaking double bass drum work while keeping up the ‘inside the crazed mind of a killer’ vibe that Death Comes to All appears to be embodying - when Story claims that “all that’s left is bloodstains and a knife” you believe him.
As the album hits its stride it's astounding how much Gates of Hell can fit into barely, often sub, two minute track lengths. 'Weeping In Pain' manages a 30 second warm up before launching into its madness while only just hitting the over two minute mark, yet still somehow leaving the brain with the same amount of stimulation as listening to rock operatics. On the topic of 'Weeping In Pain', its closing sample sounds suspiciously like a sped up version of the end of Knocked Loose’s Deep in the Willow - did we go pinching out of our brothers sound library, Trey?
On a serious note though, this project is like an exercise book of how to make high quality hardcore: single 'Next to Bleed' is a warpath put to music with Hanson and Lewis’ gorgeous guitar flares and Garris running a marathon behind them on those pedals. The samples that are used, such as the “welcome to hell” in the middle of the ‘21 Sacraments’ breakdown, or the voicemail in ‘Locked Out’, are woven perfectly into the sound mix; you can see the pit pausing for breath in your mind’s eye when you hear that "welcome to hell" before the rampage starts once again.
Side 2 highlights include 'Sacrificial Deed' - its a song a girl could dance to, sits at only 1:48 but manages a three act structure and also incorporates the phrase ‘art thou’ in a hardcore song, which is beyond silly and a key part of why it is a highlight. For a technical choice, its follow up 'Death Comes to All' is where the band starts to show off, with a solo from someone in the middle turning into a guitarmony (yes that is guitar and harmony shoved together) at the last breakdown, where another one of those beautifully laid samples offers a false ending before the last eight bars of the track.
The big favourite however would have to be the character reveal track 'Crazed Killer', where Story tells this character’s manifesto over a chaotic soundscape that gradually speeds up before a hard cut ending of “In a grave, never to be seen again”. Over its 1:37 run time, the feelings of the build up to the kill before the silence of its aftermath ripple out in a way that is almost concerning - that’s how you know it’s good.
Gates to Hell close with 'Fused With the Soil'; it is everything that they have served in this project rolled into one. From the seamless "don’t think for a moment you are not in danger" at the end of its first breakdown, to its bouncy verses mixed with constantly transformative soundscapes working its way into an ambient (almost static) outro.
All in all, if you’re looking for metal and hardcore, you will find it at a high quality in Death Comes to all. Its chaos has structure and intention, wanting to show off what this band can do while committing itself to the erratic. The only fault that could be made is how crammed the tracks feel when listening in one go - slow down and enjoy the ride is the phrase that comes to mind. Apart from that, well - it was sick, it was metal.
Score: 7/10
Death Comes to All was released on March 21st 2025 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Words: Julia Brunton
Photos: Gates to Hell
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