By: Josh McIntyre
Album Type: EP
Date Released: 15/01/2021
Label: Closed Casket Activites
“An Unexpected Reality” DD/LP track listing:
1). Starved
2). Sick of Being Sober
3). Rusted Gold
4). Imposter Syndrome
5). Amputation
6). Depraved Not Deprived
7). Superspreader
8). Emptiness
The Review:
This new EP from Gatecreeper shows them both at their grindiest and doomiest. Inspired by Black Flag’s “My War” album the first seven tracks show them at an almost deathgrind pace and fury. It’s in your face and it’s raw. It’s riff city. I’ve caught the band live three or four times, each time being a blast, and this just sounds like the soundtrack to pitting when shows eventually come back.
However, the majority of the EP’s length is actually contained within the final eleven minute song. The listener is circle pitting for awhile and suddenly these droning guitars come in as if someone slammed on the brakes. There’s even a sorrowful lead part, typical for traditional doom metal. The song evolves quite nicely through its various sections, from chugging guitars, a short clean section, some double kick, and some great lead lines.
Overall this EP is a wonderful, headbang-worthy experiment in dynamic taste and songwriting experiments from the Arizona death metallers. They show that they’re more than capable of writing both brutal grinders and longer, more emotionally impactful dirges. This adds a bit more flavor to the band that I already consider to be one of the better ones out there making straight-forward, riffy, and simply ‘fun’ death metal.
“An Unexpected Reality” is available HERE
