Death Metal
Nuclear Blast Records
Release Date – May 17th 2024
Line Up:
Chase H. Mason – Vocals
Eric Wagner – Guitar
Israel Garza – Guitar
Alex Brown – Bass
Metal Matt Arrebollo – Drums
Tracklist:
1 – Dead Star
2 – Oblivion
3 – The Black Curtain
4 – Masterpiece Of Chaos
5 – Superstitious Visions
6 – A Chilling Aura
7 – Caught In The Treads
8 – Flash Habit
9 – Mistaken For Dead
10 – Tears Fall From The Sky
I would suggest that Gatecreeper is quite the deal in the death metal world. Having released a ton of singles and splits, this is only their third full length and their first for Nuclear Blast. Knowing they needed to put something special down, they enlisted Dismember’s main man Fred Estby to help with pre-production, and boy has it worked.
Opener ‘Dead Star’ starts with a grinding riff, then vocalist Chase H. Mason roars his voice hoarse over the top as the riff becomes a chugathon. Then ‘Oblivion’ brings Matt Arrebollo’s double kick talents before he bangs out a tempo change, and guitarists Eric Wagner and Israel Garza give it some on a bastard heavy riff which is all underpinned by Alex Brown’s solid bassline. ‘The Black Curtain’ is a mid-tempo modern metal gem with a death metal growl. Then ‘Masterpiece Of Chaos’ starts with a doomy intro, and then it builds steadily into a full-on death metal rager before ‘Superstitious Vision’ comes back to the chug. Brown’s bass starts ‘Flesh Habit’ and is soon joined by the guitars on a simple melodic (!) riff that’s mid-tempo and kinda bouncy, then ‘Mistaken For Dead’ exceeds the speed limit from the off. It’s loud, it’s fast, and it’s nasty. We’re back to the doom for the start of ‘Tears Fall From The Sky’ and as it continues, it becomes crushingly heavy and dark with some more excellent fretwork from Garza and Wagner.
I’ll admit that my knowledge and exposure to death metal is limited, but I am listening to a lot more and if I compare this to what I have heard already, then it’s very much the equal. Third album and already these guys sound world-class. They’re also not afraid to bring it down like the legendary Obituary, and when they let loose, they really go for the throat like Cannibal Corpse. It’s looking like a good year for death metal already.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 8/10
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