GATECREEPER

Deserted RELAPSE

Arizona’s cult death squad return to kill and kill again

Death metal diehards can smell the real thing from miles away. One listen to Gatecreeper’s 2017 debut album, Sonoran Depravation, confirmed it; the Arizona crew tap directly into the genre’s primal essence and know exactly how to harness its powers. Deserted is unapologetically more of the same, but it’s heavier and more refined than its predecessor, with a startling number of riffs that will have old-school fans dribbling on their Treblinka demos. The opening title track delivers a flurry of deathly money shots, from the crippling doom riff that hails a beginning to hostilities to the pummelling d-beats and Bolt Thrower-esque tank-crawls that drive things to a climax. It’s a hard act to follow, but everything from all-out assaults Puncture Wounds and Barbaric Pleasures to the funereal finality of Absence Of Light oozes class. ■■■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Grave, Tomb Mold, Entombed

DOM LAWSON