ALBUM REVIEW: Ishtar Gate – Stones Of Babylon
By the order of the ancient Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II, the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon was constructed. Built on the north side of the city and bedecked in animal and deity reliefs upon glazed blue bricks, the Ishtar Gate is a hypnotic and fascinating piece of architecture. However, like many ancient doors it symbolises an otherworldly access to enigmatic worlds – the intersection of esoteric crossroads or the thunderous force of celestial power. Carrying on from where they left off with 2019’s Hanging Gardens, the Portuguese trio from Lisbon STONES OF BABYLON continue their musical exploration of ancient Babylon. Ishtar Gate fuses Middle Eastern sounds with monolithic riffs from the West to create an eerie journey through one of the greatest ancient cities of all time.
The first vibes you get from Ishtar Gate are eerie and enigmatic. From its imposing, weighty, fuzz-drenched riffs mixed with Phrygian melodies, the album creates a ghostly atmosphere as the ruins of a once great nation lie crumbled, giving way to a plethora of myths and legends that serve as warnings not to walk through the gate unprepared. If Hanging Gardens was STONES OF BABYLON’s look at the city while it was flourishing, Ishtar Gate is the exact opposite. Dark and oppressive, the album conjures up the image of a civilisation that has been totally decimated but the mystical eighth gate remains, its blue stone illuminated by the bleak grey rubble that resides around it. You can see a gold sun rise through the archway, and through the gate you feel an omnipotent celestial presence that is nether explicitly good nor bad but ancient, mysterious and unexplainable. To some extent STONES OF BABYLON have created an album that feels ritualistic; there are passages that feel as though you are locked in a spiritual trance as omnipresent deities surround you in the glow of a Middle Eastern dusk.
There is an esoteric magical aura that surrounds Ishtar Gate; the Phrygian melodies that the band have created are relentlessly hypnotic and show that they have really studied their Middle Eastern influences. With that in mind, the combination of heavy, monolithic doom riffs with these psychedelic, folky aspects of the melodies leads to an intriguing atmosphere. With the introduction of Alexandre Mendes on the guitar, STONES OF BABYLON have evolved and expanded their sound, bringing a new level of depth that firmly cements their concept. With their sonic mantras effortlessly shifting between weighty riffs and subtle psychedelics, you truly feel like you’re on a mystical journey through time. In some cases your destination seems unclear, and the thrill of the unknown kicks in.
The strange and rumbling introduction to the album starts with Gilgamesh (…and Enkidu’s Demise). A grating noise gives way to dark chanting before erupting into a gigantic doom riff; the track sets the tone for the album by instantly bringing in STONES OF BABYLON’s signature blend of Middle Eastern and Western music with a high amount of energy. Anunnaki follows a similar vibe, except it is slow and significantly darker in feel – this is where the mysterious aura of the album becomes noticeable. This leads perfectly into the chilling song Pazuzu, where the ominous spoken introduction makes your hairs stand on end. The song itself journeys through several menacing sections, moving between haunting melodies and gigantic, fuzz-filled riffs.
The Gate Of Ishtar is one of the more psychedelic songs on the album, toning down the bigger riffs to create a swirling soundscape. The Fall Of Ur brings the energy up a notch, with octave riffs and a faster pace. The song’s presence is foreboding and doom-laden as it tells of the collapse of Ur, an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia. Album closer Tigris And Euphrates opens with relaxing water sound effects, as like the two rivers it names in the title, its melodies meander and flow efficiently into thunderous riffs that signify the dominance of these great rivers. The six tracks on Ishtar Gate take you on a special journey to this ancient place, yet with the feel of the two worlds of the ancient Middle East and the modern day West colliding to tell a story of a magical place and its rich history through the medium of fuzz.
STONES OF BABYLON have exceeded themselves, expanding their sound and cementing their concept in the process. While the sound as a whole doesn’t present anything new in terms of doomy psych music, the successful and intriguing implementation of the Middle Eastern scales with hefty riffs to form a cohesive narrative is what makes this album stand out.
Rating: 7/10
Ishtar Gate is out now via Raging Planet Records.
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