GATECREEPER – Dark Superstition

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7.0

• Bands:
  GATECREEPER
• Duration: 00:35:00
• Available from: 05/17/2024
• Label:

• Nuclear Blast

Streaming not yet available

Gatecreeper have always known how to make fans of the most muscular death metal vibrate, in some cases also similar to crossover and hardcore environments, but with their new work, “Dark Superstition”, the first for Nuclear Blast Records, the Americans they try to look beyond, highlighting certain Northern European influences to delve into more melodic and catchy territory.
From the first notes, a curious evolution emerges compared to their beginnings, when a groove modeled on cornerstones such as Dismember's “Massive Killing Capacity” and the Bolt Thrower repertoire was identifiable as the first trademark of the formation. This time, however, Chase Mason and his companions choose to let themselves go and rock, taking as a point of reference – at least for certain songs – that particular period in the mid-nineties in which various death and doom metal bands began to experiment with the melody, gothic arias and with more rock structures.
It's a change that might come as a surprise to longtime fans accustomed to the power and square pace of albums like Sonoran Depravation and Deserted. However, this new approach could also open the doors to a wider audience, perhaps intrigued by more accessible sounds.
The influences of bands like Paradise Lost on “Icon,” Cemetary on “Godless Beauty” and Desultory on “Bitterness” are evident at various points, although they may be less familiar to younger or less experienced fans.
Pieces like “The Black Curtain” and “Flesh Habit”, in particular, underline a dark and at the same time rhythmic vein that cannot help but evoke the style of Greg Mackintosh in the so-called golden years, obviously with the necessary proportions; in a sound that all in all still focuses on death metal instances, at least in some moments, these are to all intents and purposes the first real 'singles' created by the group in their career, strong in a structure and a melodic taste potentially capable of speaking to a different audience than the one that has followed the kids up until now. In this sense, one of the weak points of “Dark Superstition” – and of this type of song in particular – could be Mason's voice, which remains anchored to a rather standard growl. Although it works well in the aggressive songs – which still have their space in the tracklist, see “Masterpiece of Chaos” or “Mistaken for Dead” – it could be less adequate in the more melodic episodes. An evolution à la Nick Holmes could therefore be desirable to further enrich the band's sound and definitively convince a different audience.
Despite this, the album is still enjoyable. Beyond a piece like “Caught in the Treads”, in which the melody and the massive vein expire in a rather cheesy Amon Amarth-like theme, the catchier sounds are supported by riffs and melodies that are all in all spot-on, which capture the attention in a short time, bringing to mind many “passage” records that various 'older' listeners will probably have in their collections.
Although it is therefore not a revolutionary innovation in the panorama of death metal, especially European, this partial change of direction for Gatecreeper therefore manages to be configured as an album that deserves to be listened to, especially by those who feel nostalgic or those who are willing to explore new sonic territories without completely giving up the power and verve that characterize this musical genre.