Gates to Purgatory
| Gates to Purgatory | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1984 | |||
| Recorded | June 1984 | |||
| Studio | Caet Studio, Berlin | |||
| Genre | Speed metal, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 33:41 | |||
| Label | Noise (Germany) Combat (US) | |||
| Producer | Running Wild, Horst Müller | |||
| Running Wild chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 4/10 |
| metal.de | 8/10 |
| Rock Hard | 9/10 |
Gates to Purgatory is the debut studio album by German heavy metal band Running Wild, released in 1984. Predating their pirate themes, the album features mostly satanically-influenced lyrics, alongside songs with anarchic and libertarian (in the sense of European libertarianism) themes. The lyrical content was partly influenced by Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke's studies in theology. He left the band shortly after the album's release to become a vicar.
Despite not being actively promoted, the album achieved sales success, selling over 20,000 copies within the first three months, and influenced several other bands worldwide.
It was reissued in 2012 by Lemon Records and in 2017 by Noise Records.