New label and new record for Gatecreeper!
Three years after their surprise EP, Chase H. Mason (vocals, ex-Spirit Adrift), Eric Wagner (guitar, ex-Spirit Adrift), Metal Matt (drums, Noose Rot, Hellhorse, ex-Sovereign), Israel Garza (guitar, Judiciary, ex-Terror Chamber) and their new bassist Alex Brown (Moribund Dawn, Savage Necromancy, Skullcrush) unveil Dark Superstition, their third album, on Nuclear Blast.
The band kicks off the album with Dead Star, a composition with an Old School approach that lets their groovy, heavy touches mingle with relatively melodic elements and ever-impressive vocal parts. The abrasive, Swedish-scented sound picks up pace with Oblivion and its aggressive influences coupled with frenetic drumming and blast parts that frame slightly calmer passages, before the sound turns almost melancholy with The Black Curtain, which adds a touch of Doom/Death to the greasy mix. The quietude created by the track is as pleasant as unusual, but it’s overshadowed by Masterpiece Of Chaos, which feeds ominous tones before growing stronger and much thicker, also incorporating screeching harmonics. The leads become more accessible and heady again with Superstitious Vision, the next composition, which takes advantage of Hardcore influences to keep its stirring touches, then the break and dancing solo tint the final before returning to raw strength with A Chilling Aura, while giving the guitars moments to become more majestic. The already familiar Caught In The Treads continues this mix of catchy base and hypnotic airy touches, creating a contrast with the raucous vocal parts, then we return to driving sounds with Flesh Habit whose rumbling bass helps to assert the Sludge tones. The band return to their wild beginnings with Mistaken for Dead, a track made to be played on stage and turn the pit upside down with ease, then the album comes to an end with the long, slow Tears Fall From The Sky, taking advantage of the soaring notes to adopt a more haunting dimension that carries us along with it towards nothingness.
Gatecreeper navigates between several shades of Death Metal, sometimes integrating Doom/Sludge, sometimes more aggressive influences to give Dark Superstition a unique, catchy rhythm.
80/100