Writing catchy songs has always been the goal for Gatecreeper. Its all about the riffs. Gatecreeper vocalist and co-songwriter Chase H. Mason doesnt pull any punches when it comes to discussing his bands modus operandi. For a genre in which many closed-minded zealots see catchiness as a dirty word, Gatecreeper go hard against the grain of the old school death metal revival. Mason explains. We wanted big hooks and catchy leads while still being extreme and aggressive.
Its on this basis that Gatecreepers second and latest full-length, Deserted, takes death metal from its 80s Floridian roots and 90s Swedish expansion straight into the here and now. In fact, the vanguard of death metal in 2024 can be found under Arizonas searing sun. Thats where Gatecreepers members make their homes, spread across the twin frying pans of Phoenix and Tucson.
The band nodded to their scorching home state with the title of their 2016 full-length debut, Sonoran Depravation. The theme continues on Deserted, which boasts songs like Sweltering Madness, Boiled Over, a song that fuses classic Bolt Thrower with the pulverizing power grooves of sludge titans Crowbar. Absence Of Light upholds Gatecreepers tradition of finishing their records with a slower track. I really like death/doom and funeral doom sort of stuff, so the goal was to try that style out but stay close to the Gatecreeper format, Mason says. A format the Aotearoa will surely love.
