GATEWAY TO SELFDESTRUCTION
Death, My Salvation

Gateway to Selfdestruction is an Atmospheric Black Metal band from Germany, formed in 2013. Their debut album „Death, My Salvation“, released by Northern Silence in 2016, marked the beginning of the band’s musical output. At the time they had already been active on the live front for quite a while, captivating the audience with their sorrowful and haunting creations. The style was very much influenced by Katatonia’s “Brave Murder Day”, so signing the band was a foregone conclusion when the individual behind Northern Silence witnessed one of their fantastic live performances for the first time.

In November 2019 the band entered the studio to record their second album, entitled „Sanctus : Mater : Scortum“. It was once again produced by Patrick W. Engel at Temple Of Disharmony and will be released on CD and digitally on February 21st.

The concept behind the album delves into the power struggle between the child and the motherly, pathologic presence of a woman suffering from mental illness, whose self-destructive behavior is expressed through child abuse, perversions and prostitution in both obvious and hidden ways. The conceptual layout of the CD shows her pathology and the different roles she is driven to play in her life – the loving mother to the casual observer, the whore in secret, the Madonna as the highest aspiration which she struggles to reclaim.

Musically, Gateway to Selfdestruction went from the Depressive Black Metal with atmospheric Doom influences of earlier days to a more Progressive Extreme Metal sound with extensive use of clean guitars, guitar solos, different vocal styles, clean vocals, choirs and extreme screams. Influences range from old Katatonia to more contemporary acts such as Shining, Woods of Desolation, Ghost Brigade and Antimatter.