A savage, old-school death metal unit based out of Arizona,
Gatecreeper's uncompromising blend of doom and death evokes names like
Grave,
Obituary,
Bolt Thrower, and
Dismember.
Founded in 2013 around the talents of vocalist Chase Mason, guitarist Eric Wagner, bassist Sean Mears, and drummer Matthew Arrebollo, the quartet issued a series of independently released EPs and splits before inking a deal with Relapse Records. Their full-length debut, 2016's
Sonoran Depravation, was produced by Ryan Bram at Homewrecker Studios and mixed by
Kurt Ballou (
Converge,
Nails,
Black Breath) at God City Studios. A split LP with
Take Over and Destroy arrived later that same year, and in 2018 the band released another split LP, this time with crossover/thrash unit
Iron Reagan. In 2019, the group unleashed their sophomore full-length effort, Deserted.
Gatecreeper slimmed things down for their third effort, 2021's
An Unexpected Reality, an adventurous set that lasted just 17 minutes. ~ James Christopher Monger