Legendary Artist Duncan Storr Illuminates GATEKEEPER’s ‘East Of Sun’ Album Cover

February 15, 2018 EnricoLeave a comment

Soon, the metal world will get to absorb the sounds of GATEKEEPER’s first full-length album, “East Of Sun”, an epic metal tour-de-force that will see the light of day this April via Cruz Del Sur Music.

Soon, the metal world will get to absorb the sounds of GATEKEEPER’s first full-length album, “East Of Sun”, an epic metal tour-de-force that will see the light of day this April via Cruz Del Sur Music.

Rewind back to the early months of 2017, though, and it was legendary British artist Duncan Storr (DARK FOREST, EDGE OF SANITY, RAGE, SKYCLAD) who became one of the first people to hear the demos that would ultimately become “East Of Sun”. Well before they were signed to Cruz Del Sur, GATEKEEPER leader Geoff Blackwell mustered up the courage to email Storr a demo to see if he’d be willing to work on the project. Luckily for Blackwell and co., Storr took an immediate liking to GATEKEEPER and got down to business.

“I liked the demo and asked to hear a few more songs if they had more,” says Storr. “Geoff sent me over another two demos to listen to so I could get a good feel for their sound. The titles of the tracks ‘Warrior Without Fear’, ‘Oncoming Ice’, and ‘East Of Sun West of Moon’, sparked something and I got a few ideas from listening to the tracks.”

Storr proceed to reach into his vault and selected an unfinished piece he thought would be suit GATEKEEPER. “I sent Geoff a few of these images and relayed how I would like to incorporate some of the song ideas and embellish the atmosphere in the painting,” he says. “He got back to me after showing the rest of the band. The band have been great to work with and have kept me informed and added more demos for me to work with as I paint. I find this always helps.”

“We had a short list of people that we wanted to work with on this album and Duncan Storr was on it,” adds Blackwell. “He is a real gentleman and a master behind the paintbrush. The piece he showed us instantly clicked with our vision for the record and in a way, it drove us to work even harder on the music in order to match the quality of his art. GATEKEEPER would like to thank Duncan for his hard work, dedication to his craft and for being a loyal fan of rock and roll.”

SACRAL RAGE Prepares Highly-Anticipated Sophomore Album

February 1, 2018February 13, 2018 EnricoLeave a comment

Promising Greek speedsters SACRAL RAGE has started work on the follow-up to their 2015 “Illusions in Infinite Void” debut full-length for a 2018 release via Cruz Del Sur Music. The as-yet-titled album will be produced by SACRAL RAGE, with drum and guitar recordings taking place in Ignite Studios in Athens. The band will track vocals and bass in White Socks Studios and will have the album mixed and mastered by Stamos Koliousis at an undisclosed location in Norway.

Comments guitarist Marios: “The music retains the classic SACRAL mixture of tech madness/aggressiveness with the addition of more complex structures at times, along with a darker vibe and more layered sounds than the previous one. In terms of composition/arranging of the songs, the way we worked haven’t changed since our last work. The only difference was that we had to overcome and re-invent aspects of ourselves in order to present something different and fresh from our previous works.”

SACRAL RAGE’s sound — a blend of tech thrash in the vein of CORONER mixed with the sci-fi aura of VOIVOD and the melodic class of HELSTAR — has taken on a more aggressive form according to Marios, even finding the band going down even darker paths than before. “It’s like we expanded every aspect of ‘Illusions…’ with this one. The songs came out bigger than expected without losing the character and the sound of the band. Lyrically, we present stories of the near (or not) future and visions of a traveler that wanders through time.”

The positive reception to “Illusions…” helped spread the SACRAL RAGE name throughout Europe and included several key festival stops along the way. Aware of the expectations for their sophomore album, Marios feels like it’s time for SACRAL RAGE to assert their place in the heavy metal underground.

“With our second release, we aim to make the next step for the band and participate in bigger festivals, as we believe that our live performance is one of our strong points,” he closes. “We also hope that our music will be unleashed on much more people than before.”

Canada’s GATEKEEPER Joins Cruz Del Sur Music

January 25, 2018February 13, 2018 EnricoLeave a comment

Cruz Del Sur Music is proud to announce the signing of Canadian epic metal force GATEKEEPER. The band’s first full-length, “East Of Sun”, will be released this April worldwide on compact disc (including 2 bonus songs), vinyl and digital.

Cruz Del Sur Music is proud to announce the signing of Canadian epic metal force GATEKEEPER. The band’s first full-length, “East Of Sun”, will be released this April worldwide on compact disc (including 2 bonus songs), vinyl and digital.

Originally formed in 2009 as a solo project by guitarist Geoff Blackwell, GATEKEEPER has assembled an impressive array of EPs and splits, including an appearance on Metal Blade’s “Metal Massacre XIV” where they contributed the song “Bell Of Tarantia”. Their signing to Cruz Del Sur will mark a new, exciting era for the band.

Comments Blackwell: “Cruz Del Sur has been a bastion for great heavy metal for a long time and it’s a pleasure to be included alongside a host of bands that have been influences on our music and bands that we consider our contemporaries. Above all, Enrico [Leccese] has been extremely fair and willing to work with us so that we can present the album the way we’ve envisioned.”

Recorded over the span of six months at Harbourside Studios in Vancouver, Canada, “East Of Sun” was produced by Mike Rogerson, whose previous credits include ANNIHILATOR, AGGRESSION, 88 MILE TRIP and LOVERBOY, with additional production assistance provided by Angelo Boose, who, according to Black “stayed up through many all-night recording sessions with us.”

The “East Of Sun” title is a shortened version of a book of Scandinavian folk tales that parallels the content on the record where each song stands on its own. The album’s cover art was created by Duncan Storr, who has previously worked with SKYCLAD, RAGE and Cruz Del Sur’s own DARK FOREST.

“East Of Sun” boasts a mixture of older, unreleased material written by Blackwell which are complemented by live staples that have recently been updated. “It’s pure heavy metal with a sword and sorcery flourish,” says Blackwell. “We wear our influences on our sleeves, but we don’t want to be a pale imitation of them. We try to capture the spirit of what we love without copying anyone’s’ notes. This album has our fastest song and it’s got our biggest, most epic slow-burner and many songs in between. It has melodic electric guitar playing coupled with fierce riffs, thunderous rhythms, mystical acoustic passages and, of course, a unique and varied performance from our singer, Jean-Pierre. And these things are just the start.”

GATEKEEPER’s immediate plans include assembling live dates near their Vancouver home base and on the west coast of Canada. Currently, they are scheduled to play the Northwest Metal Fest in Seattle this March alongside Q5, HEIR APPARENT, GLACIER, WILD DOGS, SKELATOR, SUBSTRATUM and RIOT CITY. Aside from that, Blackwell says GATEKEEPER has its sights set on even bigger territories, namely Europe:

“With Cruz Del Sur on our side, I think it’s just a matter of time before we cross into European soil, so beware!”

Line up:

Jean-Pierre Abboud – Lead Vocals, Chorus
Geoff Blackwell – Rhythm/Lead Guitar, chorus
Kenny Kroecher – Lead/Rhythm Guitar
David Messier, Bass guitar, chorus
Tommy Tro – Battery