Silver Screen Stabbings: Cemetery Gates’ Welcome to Hell Part One

Details: By Loron Hays; 09 October 2018

Cemetery Gates - Welcome to Hell - Extended Visual Album Promo from Gene Priest on Vimeo.

In the past week alone, the synthwave community has been inundated with quality releases hitting our ears just in time for the Halloween season. From Vampire Step-Dad’s EPIC Songs to a Haunt a House To to Gregorio Franco’s stunning Apocalypse Prime, the styles of the music might be different in tone, but they are unique in their expression and completely central to celebrating this season of the witch. Hell, even 1982 has weighed in on the trick-or-treating fun with his 3-song EP.

And now we have the striking debut release from Cemetery Gates. It is a release that we have been waiting patiently for since Gene Priest and Derek Jones, who filmed last year’s Connected: Echosynthetic Fest 2017, announced their synthwave project. A synth ode to horror films? With brand new electronic music? AWESOME.

"The trip inside Cemetery Gates’ Welcome to Hell is a journey to the other side that is well worth the price of admission. Just make sure you are up to date with all your horror trivia, Horror Hounds and Gore-Gore Ghouls."

The trip inside Cemetery Gates’ Welcome to Hell is a journey to the other side that is well worth the price of admission. Just make sure you are up to date with all your horror trivia, Horror Hounds and Gore-Gore Ghouls. The song titles – all of them being taken from lines of dialogue in horror films we know and love – are going to test your attention to the stickier side of the movie aisle.

The cycle begins, as all thing AWESOME and shred-worthy ought to, with a tip of the hat to The Monster Squad. The first track, “Scary German Guy is Bitchin’”, is an incredibly atmospheric entry point into this 13-track nod to 1980s horror. Get ready for the chills. This spine-tingling assault is quickly followed by a thrilling trio of pulsating songs that simply burn with disturbing intensity and, honestly, really do belong playing in the background of the next great slasher.

Cemetery gate Album

Seriously. From the slow burn of “I’m Your Boyfriend Now, Nancy” to the moody ambiance “Eat Shit and Live, Bill”, these songs SCREAM for a ceremonial night of silver screen stabbings. They are so insanely layered with spills and chills that you may, as is the case with “We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes”, feel like there truly is someone or SOMETHING behind you.

With a searing synth guiding the procession, the next section of the release mounts another plate of mouthwatering themes. The build-up in “There Was Murder In Your Eyes, But It Was Baby Murder” gives way to the sheer DOMINANCE of oppression in “No Tears Please, It’s A Waste Of Good Suffering” and, trust me, there is no escape possible. These mood-inducing songs STRIKE paralyzing fear in their listeners. And it doesn’t dissipate with each and every listen either. Potency sounds like this! {googleads}

There is a bit of an distinctive lift, though. It comes within “Anybody Touches Me And We Go!” as a little light is shone onto the cold and overgrown ground that is this cemetery. With a striking tonal shift, we get an anthem that dares gleam upon an otherwise starless night. Don’t worry, though. The dark is never split in two for very long and Cemetery Gates answer the call of The Void with the synth-laden pressure cooker that is “No Thanks, I’ve Already Had A Wife” and then, seal their fate with the steely-eyed electronic kick of “First You Wanna Kill Me, Now You Wanna Kiss Me. Blow!”

Cemetery gates Album

Go ahead and cut off those dancing feet right now, though. Go ahead. Get your hands bloody. Cemetery Gates did in making this release. And you can, too. This is not that kind of an album. With “Smile You Son Of A Bitch”, “That’s My Mother You’re Pissing On”, and the haunting “Sometimes Dead Is Better” waiting in the wings, there are still quite a lot of surprises in store …and none of them involve dancing.

But first, there is one song which we should dealt with on its own. If there is but one single John Hughes moment in this celebration of horror, it comes with the blue ballad that is “Your Friend Needs A Psychiatrist, Not A Vampire Killer” and its hidden charm. After a slow introduction of engaging pulses, an evocative medley comes across. Eventually rising from the warm synths is a tune that is full of longing as it seems even psychos need love, too. Beautiful, guys, just beautiful.

Genius melodies abound here. No wonder then that this is a planned anthology of releases from the duo. This well is far from dry. Atmospheric and haunting three-minute tales of terror await! This release belongs in your own sinister library of sounds. BUY IT.

Go ahead and start running now. These Cemetery Gates aren’t closing anytime soon.

Cemetery gates Album