Review: Stone Nomads ‘Beyond The Gates’ EP

This might only be a four song EP from Stone Nomads but there is so much to enjoy from the Texan trio who are based in Houston. They have taken a pinch of early doom metal, a dash of that lovely modern sludge noise and combined it with some powerful riffs to create a sinister heavy sound that will batter your eardrums.

Beyond The Gates is a follow up to last year’s full length release …At The Gates Of Solitude and features two new tracks, a remixed bonus track from the LP and a new version of the classic Trouble track The Tempter which is a collaboration with the main man Kyle Thomas from Exhorder and latter day Trouble, along with the return line up of Jon Cosky (guitars/vocals) Jude Sisk (bass/vocals) alongside drummer Esben Willems.

Straight out of the bat, they hit it off with new track Witch and that delicious riff pours out of the speakers, before the slow, doom vocals penetrate your soul. It’s a sound that I never get tired of hearing, and I know they have influences ranging from Sabbath to Candlemass, from Crowbar to Conan, but I can’t help feeling that they sound like The Gates of Slumber, which is no bad thing by the way. The track is an eerie journey, with that typical slowed down, heavy drum sound and it’s just an excellent song from start to finish.

with classic heavy riffs and downturned guitars, a true staple of the genre…

Next up is their version of The Tempter which is just over six minutes long, with a haunting beginning before the guitar comes through loud and proud. It’s such a superb song and when that main classic riff kicks in, its elevated to another level. Obviously collaborating with Kyle Thomas helps enormously, but it’s a cracking effort which will go down well when they play live with Ben Wozniak taking over drumming duties.

Then comes a break from heavy doom, with the two-minute Sorrow and if ever the music matched the title, then this is it. I wasn’t sure at first as I was expecting more of the same but this is another side of the genre, slow, mean and moody yet filled with sadness and sorrow, hence they title I suppose!!!

The final track Overlords was on last year’s album and given a bit of a remix. It’s another decent song that twists and turns across the time, with classic heavy riffs and downturned guitars, a true staple of the genre. All in all, it’s about the riff which they obey at all costs and it’s a welcome return to their brooding, doomy selves.

Label: Gravitoyd Heavy Music
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Matthew Williams