{"id":215912,"date":"2025-12-05T00:07:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T00:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/215912\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T00:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T00:07:09","slug":"dolmen-gate-echoes-of-ancient-tales-things-you-might-have-missed-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/215912\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolmen Gate – Echoes of Ancient Tales [Things You Might Have Missed 2025]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"You can never have too many swords. This has always been the truth, and Portugal\u2019s Ravensire<\/strong> was well aware of it<\/a>, following in the triumphant heavy metal footsteps of fellow countrymen Ironsword<\/strong><\/a> for three albums. Even when fate would strike down Ravensire<\/strong> in 2020, drummer Alex and guitarist Nuno remained undeterred. They formed a new lineup under the Dolmen Gate<\/strong> banner and got to work immediately. Debut EP Finis Imperii released in 2023, debut album Gateways of Eternity followed last year, and now they are already up to second album Echoes of Ancient Tales merely another year later. While this could seem like rushing things to some, it\u2019s clear to me Dolmen Gate<\/strong> is striking while the iron is hot, and they\u2019re just getting warmed up.<\/p>\n

Echoes of Ancient Tales is a direct upgrade over an already strong debut. The core of their sound still channels the epic, riff-forward demeanor of Manilla Road<\/strong> and early Manowar<\/strong>. If you\u2019re familiar with other swordy revival acts like Gatekeeper<\/strong><\/a> and the aforementioned Ironsword<\/strong>, you\u2019ll have a good idea of what you\u2019re in for. NWoBHM gallops (\u201cThe Maze,\u201d \u201cThe Prophecy\u201d) in the vein of Satan<\/strong> further refine the album, increasing its variety and olde cred. Alex furiously pounds the drums while Kiko and Artur duel out riffs for days, utilizing both speedy (\u201cCarthage Eternal\u201d) and stompy (\u201cA Tale of Time\u2019s End\u201d) songwriting philosophies in Cirith Ungol<\/strong> fashion. Ana\u2019s vocals deliver the same smoky, subdued tone that enhances the music and gives the band even more of a standout personality. Better yet, Echoes of Ancient Tales fixes the only real problem I had with the debut: buried vocals. Not only does Ana sing with more confidence and power, her role is also more central and upfront\u2014justifiably so.<\/p>\n

Echoes of Ancient Tales by Dolmen Gate<\/a><\/p>\n

Dolmen Gate<\/strong>\u2019s songwriting is growing in strength, and the band is only getting heavier. The early one-two punch of \u201cSouls to Sea\u201d transitioning into \u201cThe Maze\u201d alone makes their direction loud and clear, and it shows the band isn\u2019t satisfied just sitting in one corner musically. As always, authenticity is the key factor in revival-style music, and Dolmen Gate<\/strong> passes the test with flying colors. They sound like they have the same influences as their favorite bands but are also aware of their musical surroundings in less olde times. The almighty riff is the most important building block here, and the band knows this well. Guitar and drum patterns from many varieties of heavy metal\u2014and some of its heavier offshoots too\u2014help to craft both catchy anthems (\u201cThe Maze,\u201d \u201cCarthage Eternal\u201d) and epic long-form tunes (\u201cSouls to Sea,\u201d \u201cAfore the Storm\u201d into \u201cWe Are the Storm\u201d) without missing a beat.<\/p>\n

\"\"Echoes of Ancient Tales is, without question, the best pure heavy metal record of the year. A lot of newer epic heavy metal bands have popped up during the past decade, and many of them have the right idea. But it feels like the change of bands and lineups was the kick the ex-Ravensire<\/strong> folk needed to take that next step. Dolmen Gate<\/strong> is one of the best and most authentic so far, both songwriting and production-wise, while also doing something that\u2019s uniquely theirs. Raise your swords and enter the gate!<\/p>\n

Tracks to Check Out<\/strong>: \u201cThe Maze,\u201d \u201cA Tale of Time\u2019s End,\u201d and \u201cWe Are the Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"You can never have too many swords. This has always been the truth, and Portugal\u2019s Ravensire was well…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215913,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[1135,117193,117194,117195,18,117,117196,117197,23800,19,17,117198,117199,117200,337,117201,59201,117202,117203,109736],"class_list":{"0":"post-215912","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-1135","9":"tag-cirith-ungol","10":"tag-dolmen-gate","11":"tag-echoes-of-ancient-tales","12":"tag-eire","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-epic-heavy-metal","15":"tag-gatekeeper","16":"tag-heavy-metal","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-ironsword","20":"tag-manilla-road","21":"tag-manowar","22":"tag-music","23":"tag-no-remorse-records","24":"tag-portuguese-metal","25":"tag-ravensire","26":"tag-satan","27":"tag-things-you-might-have-missed-2025"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115664050567070893","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}