Track by Track is a recurring feature series in which artists guide readers through every song on their latest release. Here, singer Chase H. Mason takes us through Gatecreeper’s new LP, Dark Superstition.
Modern purveyors of American death metal Gatecreeper are back with their third album, Dark Superstition, and first for their new label Nuclear Blast.
Regarding the LP, singer Chase H. Mason states, “Many of the songs incorporate supernatural ideas with my own experiences. But the title itself is a reference to the Superstition Mountains in our home state of Arizona. It’s a beautiful mountain range surrounded by tragedy and legends of hidden fortune.”
Dark Superstition was recorded at God City Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, with acclaimed producer and Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou, who also mixed the album.
Gatecreeper — comprised of Mason, guitarists Eric Wagner and Israel “Izzy” Garza, drummer Metal Matt Arrebollo, and bassist Alex Brownare — are currently supporting Swedish metal veterans In Flames on a US tour that runs through May 26th in Dallas. From there, they’ll embark on a North American headlining run with support from Undeath, Jarhead Fertilizer, Final Gasp beginning May 28th in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and running through a hometown record release show at The Nile Theater in Mesa, Arizona. Pick up tickets here.
In conjunction with the album’s release today (May 17th), Chase H. Mason has offered up a track-by-track breakdown of Dark Superstition exclusively for Consequence below. Take a listen to the album via the Apple Music player and see Mason’s description of each track below.
“Dead Star”:
We wanted to start the record with a bang and put something melodic and huge right at the front. While we have been using guitar melodies since the beginning, we really took it to the next level on this song. There’s several different leads that come in and out as well as a really cool solo from Izzy. There’s a certain bounce or groove to the verse riff that feels very natural to me so I was able to really flow vocally over it. Big In Flames – Clayman influence on this one. Lyrically this is a love song about a shooting star.
“Oblivion”:
After giving the people something a little different with “Dead Star,” we wanted to follow it up with an energetic and more “classic” Gatecreeper style song. I feel like this is even more strictly Swedish Death Metal style than we have ever done in the past. We used Kurt’s famous candy corn HM-2 pedal on the extra guitar layers on this song to really lean in on it. There is also a huge punk influence on this song. The lyrics are on the more personal side and talk about the effects or aftermath of a traumatic event.
“The Black Curtain”:
This is one of the very rock-oriented songs on the album. It’s definitely a new sound or style from us but I think we incorporated a couple new influences while maintaining the overall Gatecreeper sound. We used a chorus pedal on a lot of the guitars to accentuate the goth rock type leads. I would cite Paradise Lost or even HIM as influence or inspiration. Lyrically, this song is about Divination. The lyrics are through the eyes of someone trapped in purgatory, between living and dying, begging to be brought back to life by some sort of supernatural force.