Keys to the Astral Gates and Mystic Doors
Keys to the Astral Gates and Mystic Doors is a pseudonymous two-person raw black metal project out of Madison, Wisconsin. Their recordings are deliberately lo-fi and bludgeoning — raw black metal made, in one reviewer's words, “in pursuit of beauty and the desire to exist for its own sake” rather than to prove anything to an audience. That same refusal to perform for anyone shapes how the music reaches people at all: nothing on Spotify or any streaming platform, ever, only free downloads through the duo's own label, Empty Pit Recordings. Their sigil-covered artwork extends the same idea — an invitation into a private psyche's “heartache and torture,” not a brand built to be marketed.
“A band that has opted out of streaming entirely; the only way to actually hear them is to go looking.”
- Sat, Oct 3, 2026Reggie's Rock Club, Chicago, IL
Part of Reggie's “Underground Madness” bill, a large local extreme-metal night.
Sources (4)
- https://milesjaffee.substack.com/p/keys-to-the-astral-gates-and-mystic
Background on the duo, their pseudonyms, and the no-streaming approach. - https://emptypitrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/keys-to-the-astral-gates-and-mystic-doors-ii
Self-run label's Bandcamp; confirms the self-released discography. - https://www.reggieslive.com/show/underground-madness/
Billing, date, and venue for the Chicago show. - https://blackmetalzine.com/review-keys-to-the-astral-gates-and-mystic-doors-the-endless-black-and-melancholy-triumphant/
Source of the “in pursuit of beauty and the desire to exist for its own sake” characterization.