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SEVEN DOORS
The Gates Of Hell EP

Self-released (2021)
Rating: 8/10

This one has been blasting out of the speakers a lot lately; Seven Doors being the solo project of Ryan Wills, who hails from the West Country of England. Sadly, The Gates Of Hell spans just three tracks with a duration of 16-minutes, which is never long enough when the music is this good.

Opener ‘Into The Tombs’ begins with menace, before a buzzing riff and hammering percussion rattles in and we’re off. This is one furious, frothing expression propelled by Wills’ watery gargle. It’s very much death metal; flailing and brisk, hinting at a Swedish vibe but with something more earthy going on with those instruments.

However, what I really love about this EP is the thrashing nature, because when this beast lights up you can just see the flies dropping and the undead running back to their smouldering tombs in fear. Ryan Wills’ guitar work is crisp and yet loose; the riffs are constantly catchy and strains of melancholy leak from the riffing rafters.

‘Blinding Horrors’ comes chugging in at a glorious mid-paced malevolence. The steady rhythm is mesmerising but never strict, then suddenly there’s a slight shift before the pace quickens as we’re drowned by another gnarly guzzle from Wills’ windpipe.

Horror master Lucio Fulci would e proud of such a creation as the EP unwinds like a sordid tale of undead rising and splattery murders. Images of musty graveyards pervade the senses as zombified hands claw at the soil, reaching into the light, but there is none… instead, the ears drown in the grim gnashing created by Wills.

‘Cellar Dweller’ rounds off the EP, and is the fastest track on offer with platter of speeding guitars, hasty percussion and barbaric bass. All mashed together they run like a wayward chainsaw chomping at its greasy bit to clamp onto some flesh. Wills just burps, spits and gurgles his way through this morbid noise, never once stopping for breath as those riffs grind and fizz with such unbridled intensity.

Arguably one of the year’s most intense releases so far, The Gates Of Hell is a fright fest that while short, remains rabid and ravenous from beginning to end. Hats off to Ryan Wills for bringing such a noise out of Cornwall – I just hope he doesn’t take too long following it up with a full-length Seven Doors release. I wait with baited breath for the next chapter of horror.

Neil Arnold

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