Back in 2013, Germany’s Sulphur Aeon made quite a splash with their debut Swallowed By The Ocean’s Tide. And rightly so, being a crumbling, cavernous, but memorable sonic monument to Lovecraftian horrors. And yet here we are two years later, and the follow up seems to have been, well… swallowed up.
I’m not sure I can remember a follow-up to such a critically-acclaimed album get so little buzz or hype, but having owned the album since it came out, I can see why. First off, Gateway to the Antisphere has been crushed by the weight of its predecessor. Second, it’s not nearly as an immediate album. Where Swallowed… mixed some very subtle melodies into the churning Maveth/Immolation/Vorum sound, Gateway… seems to be going for a much more purely dissonant and discordant palette, almost forcibly so, reaching almost-Abyssal levels of claustrophobic noise.
Everything else is in place though, from the stellar artwork (this thing comes in a GORGEOUS package), the crumbling yet crisp guitar tone, cavernous vocals, and Lovecraftian themes and lyrics. But something is missing, and it’s that something that made the debut so good. Sure, there are oodles of those twisty, murky riffs and a few very impressive lurches, such as the closing of “Devotion to the Cosmic Chaos” or “Calls from Below.” These are staples of the style and sound, and here offer an even murkier, frothing miasma, but it’s far from the attention-grabber that the debut was.
BUT…… Gateway to the Antisphere is the very definition of a grower. It takes a while to truly click, as here we are in July and I’m just now starting to really feel the album’s horrific, moist clutches. “Diluvial Ascension – Gateway to the Antisphere”, “He is the Gate” and the monstrous “Seventy Steps” eventually sucked me in and pulled me under the surface. The pure vortices of “Onwards to Kadath” and “Abysshex,” and a couple of atmospheric bookends keep the album’s pacing from getting too mired in huge churning dissonance, but still I can’t help but think there is just something missing from the overall body of the album. Still, as the year wears on, I can see Gateway slithering up my year-end list as its layers unfurl and continue to seep into my nightmares.
I have to agree to disagree here, I think this album is superior to Swallowed by the Ocean’s Tide. I found it more immediate and hooky with several riffs stuck in my head after listening, in fact I couldn’t get this bad boy outta my rotation for months. I also thought the production here is ever so slightly more clear than the debut, in which I found a lot of the riffs were buried somewhat. I do definitely agree about it being more chaotic and dissonant, but with some melodic garnishes to stave off monotony. Anyways, an excellent write up as always and I’m glad its growing on you! “He is the Gate” is my jam.
on Jul 27th, 2015 at 18:41Poopnuggs- what do you think you are doing? how dare you formulate a well written constructive criticism of a review voicing your opinion intelligently and supported with well thought out discussion. Thats not how its done.
Thanks for reading!
on Jul 28th, 2015 at 08:11I know I’m a stinker aren’t I?
on Jul 28th, 2015 at 10:46I also can’t get this album out of rotation. I haven’t listened to the debut album so that may color my interpretation of Gateway, but I definitely find it filled with hooks and memorable passages. I’ve listened to it quite a bit, and listened to it again after reading this review, and I just don’t hear a “dissonant and discordant palette.” Nearly every song seems to have memorable hooks and passages. I guess when I think “dissonant and discordant,” I think passages from Wormed’s albums or the swirling noise mush in Grave Miasma’s acclaimed last album.
To each his own. I love this album.
on Jul 29th, 2015 at 10:21Will you guys please stop with this civil, intelligent commenting, I dont know how to handle it….
on Jul 29th, 2015 at 14:57This album is stellar!
on Jul 31st, 2015 at 11:24I agree with this being a real grower and I’ve only recently been(finally)getting my head around it. It’s a very well written and colossal album which is particularly powerful and immersive when listening with good headphones. And the production is huge. Great stuff.
on Aug 1st, 2015 at 02:49