Keys To The Astral Gates And Mystic Doors – II [Demo]

Obviously, ‘II is the second recording of the illustrious duo that makes up this rather new American Black Metal act. Anyone who has heard the self-titled debut demo from 2023 will surely have been on the lookout for any follow-up to that great recording. Seemingly out of nowhere came this first serving of suppressing and truly captivating Raw and Lo-Fi Black Metal.

Keys To The Astral Gates And Mystic Doors put a lot of words into their band name, but left their demos untitled, which could make you wonder about a few things, but don’t let any of that fool you as ‘II’ again is a prime example of the sheer quality the Raw/Lo-Fi Black Metal scene has to offer these days. The music this time around is again not quite your Necromorbus Studio recording, but the trained ear will definitely be able to discern the great song writing. The duo is able to weave some compelling melodies into the predominantly riff-based sort of Raw Black Metal, resulting in some music that, for the careful listener, has enough depth and atmosphere to get their kicks from. The droning Ambiental passages and field samples do add further to the mystical character of the music, something that truly complement the total soundscape of ‘II’ – even more so than on its predecessor. Additional, in the last track the mournful guitar tone did remind me much of Warning’s ‘Watching From A Distance’, the greatest Doom Metal record of all time, truly a beautiful way to end a solid second demo.

All together, ‘II’ is yet another proof of the ingenuity of the two gentlemen behind the band, and for sure they know their craft. In fact, with the release of this second demo tape they do propel the band into the territories of the most promising US-based Black Metal bands.

Besides the somewhat long band name, don’t be fooled by some bland instructional videos on YouTube that teach you how to read and untangle the band’s logo, it’s the music itself that that will convince you without fail. Too bad that all physical copies of this demo tape sold-out almost instantly, hopefully they will get another run with a bit wider distribution in the near future…