Review by Greg on June 15, 2025.

Sects are a topic that I've always had a certain fascination about – mainly wondering how all those people can put their own lives (sometimes too literally) in the hands of someone who is really no more than a simple mortal individual like them, and trying to understand all the dynamics of subjugation, manipulation, and brainwashing that are behind the process – and, as such, I find it pretty natural that my eye is inevitably gonna be caught by a band name referring to some notable such cases (and yes, I've given a spin to The Brian Jonestown Massacre for this exact reason, if you're wondering). And so, after coming across Heavens Gate from Germany (the power band that used to host Sascha Paeth and Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, among others), now a brand-new homonymous one, straight out of Florida, seems more my cup of tea.

Let's go to the very basics: the genre. Heaven's Gate also loves the basics, as this first... erm, full-length effort Tales From A Blistering Paradise offers 19 minutes of in-your-face, crust-infused crossover that is way more on the punk end of things. Interestingly enough, two band members are likely to steal the spotlight: Tony Foresta of Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan at the mic, and Cannibal Corpse's own Paul Mazurkiewicz on drums. If that didn't instantly draw you in, I'm not sure I'd want to be your friend. Of course, if you're among the people lumping Municipal Waste in the much-derided 'pizza-thrash' current – maybe in a vain attempt to cope with the fact that they can thrash harder than your favourite band, when they want – fear not as, like I said, Heaven's Gate are fuckin' old-school and proud of it. Anyway, regarding Foresta, I don't know if his sadly short stint with punk legends RKL might have had something to do with this choice, but it's nice to hear his trademark shouts in something decidedly rawer and grimier than his most successful acts.

Unsurprisingly, Tales From A Blistering Paradise is a rather homogeneous experience, to the point that almost all the tracks start with guitar feedback noise. But again, for such a short duration you better be fine with that. Better still, there are lots of great moments, from the 'I'M IN YOUR WALLS' warnings in 'Walls' (why, come on in, Tony, I have beer!), one of the faster, blasts-driven songs along with 'The Causeway Cannibal' and 'Blood And Guts' (which still finds time to switch to an incredibly moshable riff), to the more Hazardous Mutation-esque 'Much Worse' and 'Bog Bodies', and wrapped up by the intense closer 'Freedom Square', where Foresta's screams reach peaks of desperation I honestly didn't expect from him – you really get an experience that unfolds in more ways than you might initially, and naively, expect.

Really, if I didn't find opener 'Frail Mary' so underwhelming, especially when put against the rest of the vertiginous tracklist, we could be talking about an 85+% rating. But that's not gonna change the fact that, whenever I need a short blast of raw crossover and don't have time for a proper full-length, I can't see many better options than Tales From A Blistering Paradise.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Greg on June 15, 2025.

Sects are a topic that I've always had a certain fascination about – mainly wondering how all those people can put their own lives (sometimes too literally) in the hands of someone who is really no more than a simple mortal individual like them, and trying to understand all the dynamics of subjugation, manipulation, and brainwashing that are behind the process – and, as such, I find it pretty natural that my eye is inevitably gonna be caught by a band name referring to some notable such cases (and yes, I've given a spin to The Brian Jonestown Massacre for this exact reason, if you're wondering). And so, after coming across Heavens Gate from Germany (the power band that used to host Sascha Paeth and Robert Hunecke-Rizzo, among others), now a brand-new homonymous one, straight out of Florida, seems more my cup of tea.

Let's go to the very basics: the genre. Heaven's Gate also loves the basics, as this first... erm, full-length effort Tales From A Blistering Paradise offers 19 minutes of in-your-face, crust-infused crossover that is way more on the punk end of things. Interestingly enough, two band members are likely to steal the spotlight: Tony Foresta of Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan at the mic, and Cannibal Corpse's own Paul Mazurkiewicz on drums. If that didn't instantly draw you in, I'm not sure I'd want to be your friend. Of course, if you're among the people lumping Municipal Waste in the much-derided 'pizza-thrash' current – maybe in a vain attempt to cope with the fact that they can thrash harder than your favourite band, when they want – fear not as, like I said, Heaven's Gate are fuckin' old-school and proud of it. Anyway, regarding Foresta, I don't know if his sadly short stint with punk legends RKL might have had something to do with this choice, but it's nice to hear his trademark shouts in something decidedly rawer and grimier than his most successful acts.

Unsurprisingly, Tales From A Blistering Paradise is a rather homogeneous experience, to the point that almost all the tracks start with guitar feedback noise. But again, for such a short duration you better be fine with that. Better still, there are lots of great moments, from the 'I'M IN YOUR WALLS' warnings in 'Walls' (why, come on in, Tony, I have beer!), one of the faster, blasts-driven songs along with 'The Causeway Cannibal' and 'Blood And Guts' (which still finds time to switch to an incredibly moshable riff), to the more Hazardous Mutation-esque 'Much Worse' and 'Bog Bodies', and wrapped up by the intense closer 'Freedom Square', where Foresta's screams reach peaks of desperation I honestly didn't expect from him – you really get an experience that unfolds in more ways than you might initially, and naively, expect.

Really, if I didn't find opener 'Frail Mary' so underwhelming, especially when put against the rest of the vertiginous tracklist, we could be talking about an 85+% rating. But that's not gonna change the fact that, whenever I need a short blast of raw crossover and don't have time for a proper full-length, I can't see many better options than Tales From A Blistering Paradise.

Rating: 8 out of 10