Band:	Wolfgate
Album:	Howling Lament
Style:	Symphonic black metal
Release date:	2008
A review by:	Lucas

01. Intro - Despero Illarum
02. Ancient Dominion
03. Invocation Of The Gate Of Nergal
04. Eternal Night Sky
05. Incest Maternal Gifts
06. Offerings Of Blood

The Canis Lupus, better known as "Wolf", has a new worshipper. Wolfgate, which praises the elegant and fierce creature through their band name, demo title and artwork, is just as well an entity to watch out for. The four Americans of Wolfgate are not yet signed, but if they have a shred of luck on their side, they will be soon.

You see, this band has only been going since '05 of this decade, but their first demo sounds a huge step ahead of most debut demo's I've heard. "Howling Lament", said demo, showcases a band with feeling for song writing and the balance of heavy vs. soft, and might just be the first sign of a band that's going to make it in the underground. They have my support.

"Howling Lament" contains deep growls and screams, frantic drumming, catchy riffs and keyboards that actually accentuate the riffs instead of building a huge wall of sound just for the sake of it. Besides the keyboards the clean male choir background vocals is also an element that is often used and abused within the Symphonic Black metal genre, but Wolfgate does these right as well.

Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of room for improvement for these guys and I'm certainly not declaring them the new Emperor or Limbonic Art (partially because they're a little lighter than these bands). Improvement is possible in the department of the shrieks, which sound a little too typical for the genre, but since this is only their first attempt those things are easily forgotten. What remains is a young, hungry and promising band which needs to get signed as soon as possible. Let's see if they can fulfil the promise they've made with this demo.