After an eight year wait, Slechtvalk take their blackened death metal to another level on At Death’s Gate, the sixth album from the band.
For me, northern Europe, especially Scandinavian countries produce some of the most powerful death/black metal. Bands like Antestor (Norway), Crimson Moonlight (Sweden), and Immortal Souls (Finland) are some of the obvious examples and are among my favorites and joined in that collection is Slechtvalk from the Netherlands. Slechtvalk (Dutch for peregrine falcon) was formed from a solo project of singer/guitarist Shamgar around 1999, with a debut album, Falconry being released in 2000. Shamgar went on to assemble a band that has brought in new members over the years and the band has released five previous albums with At the Dawn of War in 2005 being proclaimed as one of the Top 100 best Christian Metal Albums of All Time and their previous album, Where Wandering Shadows and Mists Collide, being one of the most anticipated albums of 2016. Unfortunately, much like their contemporaries, Slechtvalk tend to have extended periods of time between releases, ranging from 5-8 years when you look at At the Dawn of Time (2005) to A Forlorn Throne (2010) to Where Wandering Shadows…(2016) to At Death’s Gate (2024). Consistent with the previous release, for At Death’s Gate, the band has brought in Lasse Lammert (Wind Rose, Accept, Alestorm) to handle production, recording, mixing, and mastering.
Ferocious black metal droning riffs and blast beats open up the album and immediately establish the tone for the album. Shamgar’s near shriek-like vocals fit perfectly and Hamar’s work on the drums is amazing from the first track throughout the album with its speed and variety of fills and rhythm changes. The clean chorus parts and keyboards pro vide some relief from the relentless assault and at the same time will bring comparisons to Antestor especially their Forsaken album. What really like is the variety of elements in the songs on the album as it’s not all blast beats and droning guitar riffs. From the first track on the songs contain melodic, heavy, chunky riffs. Sure the blast beats and black metal vocals are there as expected but there is so much more. The production by Lasse Lammert this time around has a fuller sound to it than that of Where Wandering Shadows and Mists Collide but even with this, each instrument is clear in the mix and works very well. I especially appreciate being able to hear the bass coming through during “At Death’s Gate” along with clearness of the heavy pounding riffs. Given the album title and various song titles, one may expect a pretty dark album but through it all there is the light of hope and perseverance though trials both mental and physical, which one can also see lyrically even if you may likely need the lyric sheet to discern that.
“The White Raven” changes things up a bit and doesn’t immediately jump into the black metal elements, choosing an almost power metal vibe in the opening accompanied by some crazy drum patterns by Hamar again. The more melodic approach works really well even with the black metal style vocals and the subtle tempo changes and gang vocals are interesting aspects I wasn’t expecting and show the maturity and confidence of the band in knowing their sound.
“We Are” was one of my favorite tracks on the previous album and “Fight Till the End” to me, is the “We Are” rallying cry song on At Death’s Gate. Similar to “The White Raven” the band chose to stay more melodic with this track and the end result is a song sure to inspire some fist-pumping when performed live. The section of the song with the deeper growled vocals and punishing riffs that lead into a clean chorus accompanied by blast beats before reverting back and going melodic and faster is a great touch to a great song.
“Death” is one of the videos from the album and another standout track. The fast heavy riffs, great drums, Gregorian-like chorus, keyboards, and of course blast beat sections show the capabilities of the band in mixing elements. There is even a stripped down quieter section where Shamgar’s vocals become the focal point, and the song ends with choir vocals in an almost shout-response with a heavy riff.
“Night of the Locusts” starts with some air-raid sirens and sounds of combat before erupting into blast beats and droning guitars, which actually might have been a better way to start the album as it would warn the listener of the destruction to come but what really strikes me about this track is the pummeling heavy, chunky riff parts mixed in as that was unexpectedly powerful and hitting. In a complete turn, “Enshrouded” begins with a orchestral string and piano opening which then leads into the longest track on the album approaching nine minutes. Musically, the piano and strings remain an important element in the sound while the guitars and drums slog through a slower, punishing riff. Hearing Shamgar’s pained vocals backed by the beautiful strings and piano is an amazing contrast and make this what could the closest thing to a blackened death metal power ballad. The album closes out with “The Destroyer” and “Heritage” which restore the full on blacked death metal that rules the rest of the album.
At Death’s Gate is one of those metal albums where you can find something new in every listen and for me is one of those albums where I enjoy every listen which, frankly, is pretty amazing for anything involving blackened metal. Where Wandering Shadows and Mists Collide, was one of my favorite albums when it came out but honestly, I think it pales in comparison to At Death’s Gate. Everything I liked about that album has been taken up a notch and reinforces the mystique and acclaim of Slechtvalk as one of the top bands in death/black metal.
Rating: 10/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- Paralyzed by Fear
- At Death’s Gate
- The White Raven
- Fight Till the End
- Death
- Night of the Locusts
- Enshrouded
- The Destroyer
- Heritage
Band Members
Shamgar: Vocals, guitars, string arrangements
Tomrair: bass, vocals
Seraph: guitars, additional vocals
Premnath: Keyboards
Hamar: Drums, additional vocals
Release Date: 31 Oct. 2024
Record Label: MDD Records
Albums:
2000: “Falconry Full-length
2002: “The War That Plagues the Lands”
2002: “Chaos & Warfare” [Split w/ Kekal]
2005: “Upon the Fields of Battle” [CD/DVD]
2005: “At the Dawn of War”
2005: ‘Thunder of War’ [Single]
2009: “An Era of Bloodshed” [Compilation]
2010: “A Forlorn Throne” Review
2016: “Where Wandering Shadows And Mists Collide” (review)
2024: “At Death’s Gate”
SLECHTVALK Online
Website: http://www.slechtvalk.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Slechtvalk.metal
Video for “Death”
Lyric video for “Paralyzed by Fear”