Stones of Babylon to Release Ishtar Gate Nov. 21
I think a lot about the distant future, if humans have another few thousand years living in organized societies such as we do, and what that time will know about this one. That’s not just me saying I think we’re all savage idiots and the future will look upon us with condescension as primitives, but yeah, I do basically believe that. Stones of Babylon, obviously, look to the past from a distant future as well, but there’s a bit of respect in the largesse of tone from the Lisbon-based outfit, who released their debut, Hanging Gardens (review here), in 2019. That is, when I listen to “Pazuzu,” I don’t get the sense that the three-piece are infantilizing or dehumanizing the past in their slow-wah riffy rollout. I’m not sure what the Exorcist movies have to do with any of it, but sometimes a thing fits and you use it anyway.
The PR wire brings album info and the stream of “Pazuzu,” which is the first single. Dig in below:
Stones Of Babylon – Ishtar Gate
Release: 21 November 2022
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.
Recorded by Paulo Vieira at Brugo Studio, Lisbon, Portugal in August and September 2021
Mixed and Mastered by Paulo Vieira, October 2021
Artwork “Ishtar Gate” by Soares Artwork
Thanks to Pawel Nowak, Pedro Lima and Rui Belchior, previous band members, for participation in the creation of “Anunnaki” (only available on CD and Digital versions)., “The Gate of Ishtar” and “Gilgamesh (…and Enkidu´s Demise)” tracks.
All intros by Stones of Babylon, except Pazuzu´s intro taken from “Exorcist II: The Heretic”.
Tracklisting:
1. Gilgamesh (…and Enkidu’s demise)
2. Anunnaki
3. Pazuzu
4. The Gate of Ishtar
5. The Fall of Ur
6. Tigris & Euphrates
Stones Of Babylon are:
Guitar – Alexandre Mendes
Bass – João Medeiros
Drums – Pedro Branco
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