Reviews

Album Review: Valust - “Through the Gate”

by The Metalverse

Updated July 03, 2025

Album Review: Valust - “Through the Gate”

Hailing from the DC-area, Valust is a solo music project created by J.P. Sloan. While he's worked on mostly EDM and singer/songwriter tracks, Sloan has recently started his descent into hard rock and metal, going all-in with his latest conceptual album Through The Gate.

Tracklist:

Horrors & Heroes (Overture)
Slay the Beast
Whip of the Matriarch
Young Enough
True
Eliason
Spearfisher
Redemption
Memories of Madeira
The Death of Therion
Through The Gate

Review

The first track Horrors & Heroes (Overture) sets the tone for the album, quickly introducing an epic female announcer that is soon joined by cinematic orchestral elements, booming drums, and an overall grandiose symphonic sound. Soaring opera vocals, distant choirs, and hard-hitting electric guitar join the fray, creating a larger-than-life sound that builds an epic fantasy meets sci-fi vibe that takes the listener on a journey to a new atmosphere.

Next up is Slay the Beast which starts with thumping bass lines, ethereal synth pads, and introduces J.P. Sloans clean vocals that pay homage to 80's metal acts like Iron Maiden, utilizing operatic, theatrical singing techniques. Valust manages to form a sound that invokes a sense of nostalgia for 80's metal while having the intricacy of modern music production and still sounding fresh.

Whip of the Matriarch begins with a slower tempo, putting heavy-hitting guitar chugs and bright instrumental leads at the forefront. Valust introduces dynamic female vocals from a new vocalist, who's singing mixes clean tones and slight raspiness, creating a powerful sound. Taking the form of a classic hard rock-style track Whip of the Matriarch shows Valust has a wide array of musical influences and isn't afraid to experiment from song to song.

Track 4 Young Enough reintroduces danceable synths, power metal soaring vocals, and theatrical guitar harmonies. Valust creates a distinct mix of genres like power metal, thrash, and hard rock with EDM/electronica influences, making a wildly interesting arcade-fantasy type sound that sends the listener back in time to the 80s. Valust also shows a sense of humor and personality with lyrics like "I'm young enough to kick your ass".

True brings an ethnic sound to the table as world drum beats, distant woodwinds, and ambient guitar build alongside a new female vocalist–building a sound that is completely different from the last track, showing Valust's variety. Chunky guitar chugs, powerful orchestral staccatos, and slamming drum beats, create a sound that verges progressive metal with a ballad-like, transformational rock anthem. After a technical guitar solo and atmospheric bridge, the track fades out with a final chorus.

Eliason starts with a dark narrator as a intricate atmosphere is built with melodic piano, grooving bass lines, building drums, and drawn-out strings. Distorted electric guitars soon join the mix but are quickly taken in and out as choir hits, orchestral elements, and bright vocals add to the songs intensity. The concept album tells a story from start to finish, but Valust says, "The heart and soul here, is the music itself".

Spearfisher starts off with dark atmospheric pads, funky EDM drum beats, and grooving synth organ tone that almost feels like it could be a Michael Jackson intro. Soon lofi-filtered vocals are introduced with an overall haunting sound that creates a distinctly ominous vibe to the song. In a sudden burst, Valust jumps into full on metal with ferocious guitar melodies and a dynamic arena rock chorus. Switching between the two distinctly different soundscapes creates a powerful sense of juxtaposition as Valust utilizes contrast expertly.

The 8th song Redemption brings back a female vocalist as piano melodies are emphasized alongside fierce guitar leads. Redemption takes a more modern hard rock sound while showcasing J.P. Sloan's classical music influences, particularly through the style of piano in the track.

Memories of Madeira takes a ballad sound as piano and singing are singled out, before gently adding in guitar and drums. Valust showcases a slower, and softer sound with Memories of Madeira–once again displaying the wide array of musical influences and styles throughout the album.

The Death of Therion swiftly grows an epic sound as heavy guitar, bass lines, dark choirs, and an orchestra join the mix. Valust creates immersive atmospheres that feel like they could be a soundtrack to a Fantasy movie, bringing a cinematic atmosphere that transports the listener to a different time and place.

The final track Through the Gate wastes no time, kicking off into soaring guitar leads, alternating male/female vocals, and a hard rock sound that blends a destructive metal sound with infectious vocal melodies. Blending progessive metal, symphonic metal, and arena rock influences, Through the Gate is one of the best written songs of the album. We really enjoyed the mix of vocal techniques between multiple vocalists, used to keep things interesting. In an ending of fitting proportion for the LP, Through the Gate ends in a final burst of theatrics.

Overall Through the Gate is a well produced album that creates powerful atmospheres that blend fantasy, power metal, arena rock, and symphonic elements, into one cohesive sound. You can stream Valust's latest release Through the Gate out on all platforms now!