Review by Arek on December 13, 2015.

Gateway To The Antisphere is a second album by three mysterious Germans from Northern Westphalia (T.-git,bas, M.-voc D.-dr). I do not really like to compare bands to one another, but while listening to this death metal album I couldn’t resist the temptation. For my not-so-young and musically overworked ear they sound a little like Behemoth but without their black metal tail, and they’re well seasoned with a more than a handful of influences from bands like Immolation and Morbid Angel. If my comparisons will make you look away I’d like to remind you that they are only my subjective feelings and yours may be completely different.

I encourage you with all my heart (if I even have one \m/)! to check out this mixture of Lovecraft and death metal. The strength of each metalhead must be his individualism and freedom of mind so get busy and start testing, checking and evaluating! Debut album Swallowed By The Ocean's Tide indicated already that this German trio can inevitably create a stir in the metal underworld but Gateway To The Antisphere moved in with a swift kick or sharp hitting elbow and destroyed the myth that death metal dies. It is true that the multitude of different bands in this genre bores with mundane and go around in circles but it is precisely albums such as this one that are making all the difference. It reminds us that good and own ideas although played in a vein of classics mentioned before will defend themselves. Concept of originality will not matter because as most of the musicians claim whatever there was to be played out has been played out already. The most important thing is to be sincere in creation and to bring joy to ear and soul of not only the creator but also at least a few more people. I am well convinced that this is the case with this album. Honesty of this album proves consequence and dynamic progress and I suspect that there are a lot of fans of this album out there. I am one certainly of them and I go through these 52 minutes of German death metal in its entirety. I will not attempt to identify the best pieces on this album, because in my opinion, best possible way to enjoy this work is from the first to the last second.

Ola Larsson was once again responsible for the graphic design of the cover and booklet and his vision of mythical Cthulhu accompanies musical layers beautifully. Ole’s images invite to delve into this musical horror produced by Simon Werner from the very beginning. He also deserves a word of recognition because uniqueness of Sulphur Aeon’s second albums sound kills you dead. This material will most certainly be in my top ten this year, and I would like to invite you to look at and listen to death metal vision of Lovecraftian mythology made by Sulphur Aeon.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Raphaël on April 2, 2022.

Ocean Of Slumber is not an easy band to describe. Their sound is a mix of progressive metal, gothic, doom, death/doom. They often are compared to Opeth and they are clearly influenced by them. A quiet, beautiful piano melody suddenly becomes heavy death/doom and then a catchy prog riff comes out of seemingly nowhere. But all these transitions are beautifully done, they always feel smooth. The songs on this album are remarkably well constructed. They are relatively short for prog, between 4 and 8 minutes but they manage to put many ideas and changes in each one. There is so much layers in this music that you discover something new at every listen.

The vocals are also phenomenal and add a lot to the heavy/beautiful duality. Cammie Gilbert’s voice is quite unique and so very beautiful yet powerful. But not in the traditional, and there I say cheesy, classical, operatic vocals of symphonic metal. More of a jazzy, doomy voice. Semir Özerkan on the other hand, has deep growls à la Mikael Åkerfeldt which makes the hair on your arms stand up!

The lyrical content fits the music perfectly. Themes of love and lost, grief and death give the music even more emotions and meaning. The song: 'Soundtrack To My Last Day' is about a dying person, their last thoughts and emotion and the point of view of death herself: Here I stand! The greatest hope The great equaliser The queen of the lost. Powerful stuff! I also need to mention the color of grace with the most beautiful passage: Holding on to everything you say Cause' your words they paint a picture of me A beautiful one of what I could be If I'd simply learn to shake away the blame You save me from myself You save me from myself. No! I did not cry, you did!

Back to the review, I must admit that I love when things get heavy so some of my favorite songs are 'The Adorned Fathomless Creation' and 'Total Failure Apparatus'. This is where the death/doom is at it’s finest, heavy and crushing. There is 2 instrumental tracks well placed in the album. The first one, 'Imperfect Divinity', comes in the first part of the album (song 4) and gives these creepy, gloomy vibes. It serves as a great intro to the next song which is quite heavy. 'September (Momentaria)' is the second one. It opens with beautiful and simple piano notes and then strings come in with the most beautiful melody. I dare you not to cry (again)!

Over all this album is dark and beautiful. The musicianship is impeccable, the vocals are superb and diverse, the lyrics goes perfectly with the music even the artwork, just by looking at it, is able to convey the same emotions you get listening to the music. In my opinion this is a step up from The Banished Heart. If you enjoy Opeth, Katatonia or The Gathering this album is for you.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10