Svart Records to reissue The Gates Of Slumber’s debut album »The Awakening« and »Like A Plague Upon The Land« EP in August 2026!

The Gates Of Slumber’s debut album and EP to be reissued in August 2026!

Svart Records continue to reissue the works of Indiana’s true doom metal legends The Gates Of Slumber by bringing back their debut album »The Awakening« and early EP »Like A Plague Upon The Land« on August 28th, 2026.

Crushing debut »The Awakening« from 2004 is an album of raw, slow, monolithic traditional doom with a gritty sound. Featuring heavy, battleaxe-in-the-gut riffs and depressing, slow leads, »The Awakening« is strongly influenced by Pentagram and Candlemass, with Conan-style lyrical themes and Ozzy-like vocals. An essential, cult classic album for the fans of true doom.

Pre-order »The Awakening« HERE.

The 2005 EP »Like A Plague Upon The Land« is a punchy release praised for its authenticity to the genre. Never before released on vinyl, this hard-hitting fan favorite is heavily rooted in 70s rock-influenced doom. Traditional, slow, and heavy in the vein of Reverend Bizarre and Saint Vitus.

Pre-order »Like A Plague Upon The Land« HERE.

The Gates Of Slumber was formed by Karl Simon in 1998. Various people were in and out of the group between 1998 and 2001, when the »Blood Encrusted Deth Axe« demo was recorded with Jamie Walters aka Dr. Phibes/Athenar (Boulder, Midnight) on drums and bass. In 2003 Jason McCash took over the bass duties and was a long-time member of the band until his untimely demise in 2014, after which Simon decided it was time to call it quits. That was until 2019 when the renowned metal festival Hell Over Hammaburg wanted to bring the band back on stage to perform at the festival’s 2020 edition. Simon reformed the band with its original member Chuck Brown on drums and Steve Janiak on bass and got back to work, which resulted in the new self-titled album released in 2024 on Svart Records.

Courtesy of Svart Records

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well