Traitor's Gate

Another Thursday, another NWOBHM obscurity to discuss…..

Let’s be honest, there’s no way this EP could be anything less than a classic. Cool band name? Check. Cool title? Check. Cool, classic NWOBHM cover art? Check. What could possibly go wrong? Sigh… if only it were that easy to evaluate records that you stumble upon! Anyone who’s been into Metal for any length of time has gotten burned using criteria such as these when deciding whether to buy an album. TRAITORS GATE, however, delivered the goods on their only vinyl release, which was pressed on Bullet Records back in 1985 as the NWOBHM was rapidly winding down.

You have here three really good songs that are each pretty distinctive from one another. While each track is different, all three hit the mark. ‘Devil Takes the High Road’ immediately generates a classy, epic vibe with the spoken intro and demonic laughing before it gets going in fine fashion. The song is tighter than RICOCHET’s classic ‘Midas Light’ but not as polished as TYTAN’s great ‘Blind Men and Fools’. As such, TRAITORS GATE was operating in the same space as the excellent PERSIAN RISK. ‘Love After Midnight’ is a smoldering number that has a great, moody atmosphere, which also perpetuates the TYTAN comparison. Closer ‘Shoot to Kill’ is a straightforward, speedy number with that great, NWOBHM gallop that we all know and love. This a top-notch EP and was perhaps the last great NWOBHM release along with VIRTUE’s ‘We Stand to Fight’, though I’m probably forgetting something from 1986 that deserves consideration.

The EP has always been a tough one to find. By late 1984 - early 1985, Bullet was reportedly having financial and/or distribution problems. The quality of the music and the scarcity of the vinyl has kept ‘Devil Takes the High Road’ on the list of highly desirable mid-priced NWOBHM rarities for decades. Recently, the band has hit the high road again and released some new material in 2017-2018.

Prior to signing on with Bullet, TRAITORS GATE recorded some demos, three of which are included on the HRR reissue of the EP. Note, however, that there was at least one other band who went by TRAITORS GATE during the NWOBHM, and they recorded a couple of demos in 1983-1984. You should thus be careful when searching through old demo tapes and don’t assume that you’ve stumbled upon unknown recordings that pre-date ‘Devil Takes the High Road’; the devil laughs when you jump the gun like that.

WOW! I have seen this record on more people's want lists than any others, and I almost NEVER see this 3 song 12 inch for sale. It is DEFINITELY a must have no matter what the cost or trouble involved in tracking this down. Band information and just general info about this band is impossible to find, however, these three songs are classic 80's power metal that is just stunning from song to song. The title tracks starts off with howling wind sounds and a slow intro, but the instrumentation soon starts rocking, and never lets up throughout the entire disc. The guitar work is quite superb, and even a song title like 'Love After Midnight' is pure class. 'Shoot To Kill' ends the disc with some fast and heavy guitar work, and I swear that vocalist reminds me of Hawk's vocalist, who does a great job of conveying heaviness and atmosphere to such killer instrumentation. This is so rare I am afraid that many people will never get to hear it, much less own it.