Album Review: Mausoleum Gate - Mausoleum Gate

For all the great bands and historical impact the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal had, I have to say that it's a subset of metal that I never had much experience with. Aside from Iron Maiden, most of that entire generation exists in my mind as academic notes I have read about, not altogether unlike peering through the fossil record. So when a new band comes along that promises to revisit the sound and feeling of that time, I'm not sure what to think, since I don't have an opinion on the original. I suppose I should be happy for anything that isn't dependent on the modern tropes I dislike so much, but I'm sure the NWOBHM had just as many things I would take issue with, if my knowledge was more developed.

Mausoleum Gate is a throwback to those days, as a cursory listen to their debut could easily be confused for an unearthed specimen from that time. That may or may not be a compliment, depending on how you want to take it. The adherence to the vintage does, without considering the songs, make this a difficult album to give a fair chance. The production is soft, muddy, and fuzzed out like a third-generation tape. Hearing the details of the music is impossible, and the lo-fi nature is not the type of thing that adds atmosphere. In this case, it is merely an annoying cloud keeping me from seeing the whole picture.

Musically, the report is more positive. “Magic Of The Gypsy Queen” kicks things off, after a minute of droning organs, with a song that is highly reminiscent of early Iron Maiden. The riff feels like one of those things I've heard before, though I can't place exactly where. The vocals are a howled wail, and though not exceedingly proficient, they get the job done. What the song has going for it is energy, which bubbles through and makes the song far more fun than my description sounds. It's a nifty little burst of old-school metal, and a solid start.

“Demon Droid” isn't as successful, with a slower tempo that lacks the same crack and sparkle. With the tempo dragging a bit, the problems with the sound become more apparent, and I don't feel like the song can quite recover from that. “Lost Beyond The Sun” is a nearly nine minute epic that regains solid footing. Here is the first example of where the organs make their presence felt. The swirling sound is integral to making the song work, and is a sound that I happen to enjoy greatly. They are also, it seems, one of the few instruments that don't sound any worse when the fidelity is low.

The band caps off the album with another epic, this time indulging in the metal cliché of writing a song named after the band. It's a practice that started with Black Sabbath, and really should have stopped there. All it tells me, no matter the quality of the song, is that a band is either trying way too hard, or can't come up with anything else that sounds good.

Mausoleum Gate is a record I'm not sure what to say about. It's a fine little collection of old-school songs that is enjoyable enough to listen to, but it's also so devoted to recreating the past that it comes across sounding like a relic. The whole thing wears the burden of being retro, to the point where it's hard to think of the record as even being new. I try not to be one of those people who obsesses over production values, but when they play so much into the very identity of the music, it's difficult not to think that the decision to be so faithful to the original sound is a cardinal sin. “Mausoleum Gate” could have been a lot more fun if I didn't think I had stepped in a time machine to listen to it.