Band:	Bewitched (SWE)
Album:	At The Gates Of Hell
Style:	Heavy metal, Power metal, Speed metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	September 27, 1999
Guest review by:	Haddonfield

01. Sabbath Of Sin
02. Heaven Is Falling
03. Black Mass
04. The Devil's Daughters
05. At The Gates Of Hell
06. Let The Blood Run Red [Thor cover]
07. Lucifer's Legacy
08. The Sinner And The Saint
09. Enemy Of God
10. Infernal Necromancy

At the Gates of Hell is the third studio album from Swedish outfit Bewitched. Having only heard their debut album, Diabolical Desecration, as well as this one, I will not be comparing this to any other released material. I will simply review the album as I feel it.

So, let's start with the genre of the album. We are gifted with a diabolical voice which is halfway between that of old thrash metal bands and pure black metal. The guitars however are purely heavy metal, although the intensified rhythm of the songs does give the sound, as a whole, a thrashy feel.

From the opening "Sabbath of Sin" to the final "Infernal Necromancy", the music ceases you by your metal nerves and jilts you about. Rarely does an album consist of such energy from start to finish whilst maintaining a really melodic sound with the "Maiden and Co." inspired guitar riffs. The album is obviously inspired from the 80s heavy and thrash metal scenes giving the listener an extreme energy boost.

As for the lyrics, they are not the most original as they evoke satanic themes. The titles themselves give that much away. A special mention all the same to the three songs, that I find, seem to detach themselves from the rest through their brilliance: "The Devil's Daughters", "At the Gates of Hell" and the cover of Thor's "Let the Blood Run Red". Vargher's vocals are exactly what is needed to get this diabolical message through. His low, instead of high vocals, combined with the melodic guitars seem to give the album an evil edge that sometimes lacks in heavy metal.

This is one of those album's you put on for one song and wind up listening to entirely. That's if you don't get the urge to grab your guitar and play for hours. At the Gates of Hell, although one of my personal favorites, is not one of those metal albums that will forever remain carved of the tombstone of metal legends but it gets straight to the point and offers a great listen to anyone who deems themselves a true metalhead.