Remember the time when Conan strapped your head to the Anvil of Crom, and then three bearded, burley bastards bludgeoned it to a bloody pulp using a giant hammer forged of Wrought-Iommi? Well, its that time again as bruising Indianapolis bashers THE GATES OF SLUMBER deftly defy death on their latest volcanic eruption, Hymns of Blood & Thunder. THE GATES OF SLUMBER encapsulate the metal experience for true believers. The Indianapolis doom metal trio formed in the late 1990s with the goal of creating a band whose sound delivered an updated take on the members long list of favourite Heavy Metal greats. Weaned on Black Sabbath, St. Vitus, the melodic might of Iron Maiden and a host of classic bands from Thin Lizzy and Rainbow to Mercyful Fate, THE GATES OF SLUMBER draw deep from Heavy Metal's most powerful blood and deliver Doom in its purest form. The bands hotly anticipated new album, Hymns of Blood & Thunder drops on the heels of the brightest and busiest year in the respected power-trios history; one that saw THE GATES OF SLUMBER pack clubs during its first U.S. headlining tour and land atop many year-end media polls with Conqueror, an album that was hailed as a breath of fresh air within the Doom / True metal underground. The record placed at the #5 position in Decibels "Top 40 Albums of 2008" and made Village Voice Medias "Top 10 Metal Albums of 2008", joining an impressive list of some of the genres finest including AC/DC, Judas Priest and Metallica. Now signed to the highly respected Rise Above Records, THE GATES OF SLUMBER unleashes its holy grail; the formidable Hymns of Blood & Thunder. A mighty document of both powerful song-writing and instrumental skull-crushing, the album is heavy and chillingly bleak in an almost unrelenting way that hadn't been heard since Judas Priest's heyday (Sad Wings of Destiny, Sin After Sin, etc.). Displaying a newfound focus and direction and demonstrating a very compelling emotional range, THE GATES OF SLUMBER have upped its levels of both technique and melody, resulting in an album that is at once frighteningly dark in its effect, tight in its grooves and unrivalled in the sheer power of its jackhammer guitar