Gatecreeper
Dark Superstition
NUCLEAR BLAST
In conversations about the new wave of old-school death metal, Gatecreeper always warrant a mention. Neither as prog-influenced as Horrendous or Tomb Mold, nor as cosmic as Blood Incantation, the Arizona group have perfected the fundamentals of the genre—righteous riffs, palpable menace, and intensity off the charts. To say nothing of the band’s versatility; after two albums of Entombed- and Dismember-style buzzsaw guitars and guttural growls on 2016’s Sonoran Depravation and 2019’s Deserted, the group delivered under 20 minutes of pit-ready crust in the form of the surprise lockdown EP An Unexpected Reality in 2021.
With their third full-length Dark Superstition, Gatecreeper make the step up to heavy-metal powerhouse label Nuclear Blast, home to the likes of Pallbearer and black-metal pioneers Enslaved. And with it, the group sharpen their songwriting while honing in further on a more pronounced melodic side. It’s always been there, but here, it’s less a tool at their disposal than a defining feature, as evident from the soaring leads in first track “Dead Star.” Gatecreeper have always been accessible in their no-nonsense aggression, but they’ve never sounded quite so catchy.
The group wears that melodic sensibility well, polishing up their most gleaming hooks on moments like the anthemic “The Black Curtain,” or carving out a sinister yet triumphant groove on the standout “Superstitious Vision.” This isn’t a softening of Gatecreeper’s abrasive exterior, however—if anything, they’re simply expanding the scope of what a Gatecreeper album can be while holding fast to a burly, beastly crunch. Standouts such as “Oblivion” and “Masterpiece of Chaos” (the latter of which lives up to its name) deliver unrelenting pummel and terror, vocalist Chase Mason maintaining his feral bark throughout. Still, the album presents a new path forward for Gatecreeper on moments like closer “Tears Fall From the Sky,” which is something like a death-metal equivalent to a power ballad, guitar leads spiraling around each other in towering harmony in an arrangement with more open space and mournful atmosphere than antagonistic gallop.
As with both Sonoran Depravation and the subtly punning Deserted, the title of Dark Superstition is a reference to Gatecreeper’s home state, specifically the Superstition Mountains, 50 miles east of Phoenix. The range is the fabled home of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine and the final resting place of as many as 600 people who perished during their search for the legendary treasure—an epic journey that comes to a tragic and grisly end. I can’t think of a narrative better fit for death metal than that.
