Premiere: Stones Of Babylon ‘The Gate Of Ishtar’ – New Album ‘Ishtar Gate’ Drops On Monday
Stones Of Babylon, an instrumental three-piece who call Lisbon in Portugal their home, drive forward with their formidable stoner induced doom, distinctive ‘70s heavy rock tone and eastern flair to their musings. And as their moniker suggests, the band also look into the annals of history drawing inspiration from the ancient world, which continues with their new album.
Entitled Ishtar Gate, according to Wiki this magnificent edifice ‘was constructed circa 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of Babylon’ and ‘was part of a grand walled processional way’, which is quite apt considering the grandiose riffing that is on offer over the six tracks and fifty-five-minute runtime.
Set to be released this coming Monday, 21st November, through Raging Planet Records, today The Shaman can give you a glimpse into the band’s kaleidoscopic portal with the near nine-minute The Gate Of Ishtar by clicking play below…
More On Stones Of Babylon & ‘Ishtar Gate’
Somewhere in Babylon, in a space almost lost in time, the eighth gate of the city was erected. Like any door, the Ishtar Gate symbolizes access to coded worlds, the closing of crossroads, or simply the thunderous force of power.
Traveling back in time to the ancient history and myths of Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, Stones Of Babylon continue where they left off with their 2019 debut album Hanging Gardens: they start from song titles with the aim that the listener can embark on a journey and, somehow, be taken to the places of an always mysterious past that fills the lines of history.
With the entry of Alexandre Mendes on the guitar, there is an evolution in continuity, where, without losing the thread of the path followed previously, they intend not only to cement the concept of the project but also to expand it either through the composition or through the loudness.
In this way, the six thick tracks that make up Ishtar Gate, intend to take the listener to feel an approach to the sounds of the Middle East in fusion with the densest and most massive riffs of the West, something like sonic mantras alternating between weight and subtlety and culminating in a psychedelic and travel atmosphere.
Ishtar Gate Tracklist:
01. Gilgamesh (…And Enkidu’s Demise)
02. Anunnaki
03. Pazuzu
04. The Gate Of Ishtar
05. The Fall Of Ur
06. Tigris & Euphrates
Stones Of Babylon is:
Alexandre Mendes – Guitar
João Medeiros – Bass
Pedro Branco – Drums
Ishtar Gate, the new six-track album from Portugal’s Stones Of Babylon, releases on Monday, 21st November through Raging Planet Records. Pre-orders are available now on vinyl, compact disc and digital download over on the labels Bandcamp.
Label: Raging Planet Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
