Heralded Indianapolis, IN doom metal masters THE GATES OF SLUMBER have signed to England’s Rise Above Records for the release of their highly anticipated new album and follow up to 2008’s celebrated Conqueror. The as-yet-untitled record is slated for a fall, 2009 release.

The announcement is made on the heels of the brightest and busiest year in the respected power trio’s history; one that saw the band pack clubs during its first U.S. headlining tour and land atop many year-end media polls with Conqueror, an album that was hailed as “a breath of fresh air within the doom / true metal underground.” The record placed at the #5 position in Decibel’s “Top 40 Albums of 2008” and made Village Voice Media’s “Top 10 Metal Albums of 2008”, joining an impressive list of some of the genre’s finest including AC/DC, Judas Priest and Metallica. The signing of THE GATES OF SLUMBER further bolsters the North American roster of Rise Above – the London based independent record label owned by Lee Dorrian (vocalist of the band Cathedral and original lead singer of Napalm Death) – which has increased its stateside profile of late by also welcoming San Diego prog rockers Astra and Toronto doom-psyche band Blood Ceremony to its family of artists.

Weaned on Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, the melodic might of Iron Maiden and a host of classic bands from Thin Lizzy to Rainbow to Mercyful Fate, THE GATES OF SLUMBER draws deep from heavy metal’s most powerful blood and delivers doom in its purest form. The band’s high-potency live performances have garnered serious word-of-mouth kudos and built it a cult following amongst the die-hard traditional metal / doom community, resulting in fans literally driving hours to catch the band’s live sets. The band’s debut music video – for the song “Trapped in the Web” – saw considerable TV play on MTV2’s long-running ‘Headbangers Ball’ program, generating further excitement about the band.

On the topic of the signing, THE GATES OF SLUMBER guitarist / front man Karl Simon comments, “We’re extremely pleased to be signing with Rise Above. The label understands what it is we want to do and shares the vision we have regarding the future of The Gates of Slumber and what it can become. Much praise was heaped on “Conqueror“; however in reality I can say that it was just a beginning. We’ve been working steady for about a year now on the material that will make up our forthcoming record and once it’s recorded, expect us to be that “plague upon the land” we’d hoped to become so long ago as we intend to make the most serious run at touring we’ve ever made in order to support this new album. Lock up your daughters, lock up your wives, lock up your back door and run for your lives! Be seeing you soon.”

In addition to Simon, THE GATES OF SLUMBER features bassist Jason McCash and drummer “Iron” Bob Fouts.