SACRED GATE "Countdown to Armageddon" details.
Out of the 3 planned releases we were to have at the Hammer of Doom festival on November 18th, we've got only SACRED GATE "Countdown to Armageddon" complete (thanks to ordering the discs from a different pressing plant) - see the explanation about what happened in the previous post. As some of the fans already know, SACRED GATE decided to split up because of internal conflicts - we were informed about it in the same e-mail in which we received the link for downloading the album. We are normally interested in co-operating only with active bands, but after hearing those new songs, we had no doubt that it would be a real shame if they were never released properly, especially considering the outstanding performance of Ron Slaets from Holland, the new vocalist they found at the end of last year, for whom it was the first and so far only studio recording. The band matured further, developing their style even more on their 3rd album, and while the IRON MAIDEN influences are not so prominent anymore, they decided to revisit one old tune originally written by MADE OF IRON, a group which started out as a Maiden tribute band and laid the foundations for SACRED GATE's formation. Is this album their swan song? Only time will tell. If it is, they sure go out with a bang! "Countdown to Armageddon" should find its place in the collections of all metalheads who love traditional heavy metal with some US power metal infusion and bands such as SAXON, ICED EARTH, IRON MAIDEN, ASKA, BLAZE, DESTILLERY, THUNDERBOLT, METAL LAW, METAL INQUISITOR, early ARTCH or BLITZKRIEG!
The promo clip for "Countdown to Armageddon" album (featuring a fragment of the title track) can be seen at this location or here:
There are two full songs on our YouTube channel ("The Oath of the Damned" here and "Sacred Gate" here) and in the Bandcamp player on the SACRED GATE page, where we put also a third song, "Under the Normandy Sky". The album track listing is as follows:
2. Angel of Darkness
3. Legions of the North
4. The Flames of War
5. Hellriders
6. Under the Normandy Sky
7. Sacred Gate
8. Mankind's Fall
9. The Oath of the Damned
10. Countdown to Armageddon
11. Made of Iron [bonus track]
(Cover art by J.P. Fournier)
You can find more info about "Countdown to Armageddon" and see the high-res cover on the page of this release.
Until December 6th, you can order SACRED GATE "Countdown to Armageddon" CD from our SHOP page with 2 Euro discount. We've made it available also in bundles with both of their previous CDs ("When Eternity Ends" and "Tides of War"). Those who order the CD will get a also a digital download code. Besides, the first orders will come with a little extra: either the band logo sticker or a photo with the art or of the band. Like mentioned in the previous post about the new CD of METAL LAW, we've set up the very convenient German shipping rates in our shop, as we've decided to go back to Germany to do all the shipments in the beginning of December.
And, as always, those who don't collect CDs, can order the album as digital download (in lossless formats) from our Bandcamp page. Later on the album will be distributed digitally by CD Baby and made available also from iTunes, Amazon MP3, eMusic and other retailers.
