Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Photo Gallery: Shredders, Part 1
Gatecreeper
Photo Gallery: Bassists, Part 3
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
© Wayne Edwards
Photo Gallery: Gatecreeper at The Webster Theater, Hartford, October 28, 2022
Gatecreeper is a death metal band from Arizona that is creating some of the most interesting music in heavy metal today. Their 2021 album An Unexpected Reality is a monumental achievement with a very unlikely structure – seven songs that run about one minute each and an eleven-minute epic as the anchor. The hooks and crushing riffs were in all their full-throttle glory, and they devastated and primed the crowd for what was to come next. This is third time I have seen Gatecreeper this year and every time is better than the last.
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
Links.
Gatecreeper, https://www.gatecreeper.com/
Hatebreed main article, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/02/hatebreed-at-the-webster-theater-hartford-october-28-2022/
Webster Theater, https://webstertheater.com/
Closed Casket Activities, https://closedcasketactivities.com/collections/gatecreeper
© Wayne Edwards
Hatebreed at The Webster Theater, Hartford, October 28, 2022
Hatebreed brought their 20 Years Of Perseverance Tour to Hartford, Connecticut, over the weekend and packed the Webster Theater to capacity.
Connecticut metal band Hatebreed has a lot to celebrate. Not only is it the twenty-year anniversary of their seminal album Perseverance, their most recent album, Weight Of The False Self, sent shockwaves through the metalcore ultraverse. It is therefore fitting that the current tour has a monster lineup with Gatecreeper, Dying Wish, and Bodysnatcher on the ticket.
The Webster Theater is a landmark for heavy music fans in Connecticut. I have seen more bands than I can count at this venue, starting way back when with Morbid Angel. Its large, open club space accommodates wallflowers and circle pit demons alike, creating one of the most welcoming metal scenes in the northeast. On the Friday night of the Hatebreed show, the Webster was as full as I have ever seen it, testifying not only to the draw of the bands performing but also to the appeal and status of the venue.
Dying Wish went up first. This Portland, Oregon metal band pushed the crowd to its aerobic limit with high-energy antics that turned heads all the way around. The unavoidable comparison of lead singer Emma Boster to Harley Quinn from the movies hits you right between the eyes when the band stepped out on the stage, but when she starts singing it is her voice you most notice. It is the hardcore energy and punk sensibilities of the band that make for a sure-fire winning combination.
Florida’s Bodysnatcher prowled the deck next. This deathcore band is touring for their latest album, Bleed-Abide, which is one of my top picks for 2022. I am a fan of all the bands on the card, but it was Bodysnatcher I wanted to see most because they are the one I hadn’t seen live before. Their performance was a mesmerizing combination of muscular metal and laid-back confidence, and it resonated with the growing crowd in Hartford. They could have played for an hour and a half and still we would have wanted more.
Gatecreeper is a death metal band from Arizona that is creating some of the most interesting music in heavy metal today. Their 2021 album An Unexpected Reality is a monumental achievement with a very unlikely structure – seven songs that run about one minute each and an eleven-minute epic as the anchor. The hooks and crushing riffs were in all their full-throttle glory, and they devastated and primed the crowd for what was to come next. This is third time I have seen Gatecreeper this year and every time is better than the last.
In the past few years I have seen Hatebreed many times, but always at large outdoor festivals. In that environment they positively crush it. With plenty of room to run around on those gigantic stages, they get up to all sorts. I wondered how that kind of show would translate to the more intimate confines of a smaller indoor place. It turns out, the show is just as exciting in a theater as it is in the wide outdoors.
Over the course of two dozen songs (twenty five, in fact, if I counted correctly), Hatebreed hit all the spots fans were looking for. The setlist did include songs from Perseverance, naturally, but also from early albums The Rise of Brutality and Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire, and more. I will never get tired of watching this band live because they leave it all on the stage and they always play like their lives depend on it.
The 20 Years Of Perseverance Tour continues trough most of November. Bleeding Through joins for the last few dates and Gatecreeper steps off then – see the tour poster for the facts and get your tickets while they are still available.
Photos by Wayne Edwards.
Links.
Hatebreed, https://www.hatebreed.com/
Gatecreeper, https://www.gatecreeper.com/
Bodysnatcher, https://bodysnatcherofficial.com/
Dying Wish, https://dyingwishofficial.com/
Webster Theater, https://webstertheater.com/
Nuclear Blast Records, https://shop.nuclearblast.com/en/products/sound/cd/cd/hatebreed-weight-of-the-false-self.html
MNRK Heavy, https://mnrkheavy.com/collections/bodysnatcher
Closed Casket Activities, https://closedcasketactivities.com/collections/gatecreeper
SharpTone Records, https://sharptonerecords.co/collections/dying-wish
Photo Galleries.
Gatecreeper, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/05/photo-gallery-gatecreeper-at-the-webster-theater-hartford-october-28-2022/
Bodysnatcher, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/07/photo-gallery-bodysnatcher-at-the-webster-theater-hartford-october-28-2022/
Dying Wish, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2022/11/08/photo-gallery-dying-wish-the-webster-theater-2022/
© Wayne Edwards
Gatecreeper, An Unexpected Reality (Closed Casket Activities 2021)
Desert Death Metal force of nature Gatecreeper release and incredible set that shows you how to do it fast and how to do it slow.
Hailing from Arizona, Gatecreeper has been creating music since 2014. Their first EP was the self-title release in that early year, and it landed a tight four songs with harrowing bravado. The pounding rhythm and powerfully insistent vocals were a sign and a statement. It was mid-tempo Death Metal with great hooks, and there was no mistaking the possibilities. Two years later Sonoran Depravation came out and warped musical reality. Many splits and singles have come to pass in the intervening years, plus a live album and the amazing sophomore full-length, Deserted in 2019. They have been throwing down the metal day after day.
The new EP is titled aptly as it is a direction that was not predictable. Separated into a “fast side” and a “slow side,” this is a Janus faced masterpiece. There are seven short songs on the fast side, and by short I mean some of them are less than one minute long with one clocking in at 31 seconds. There is a very hardcore punk attitude in these pieces but at the same time the Gatecreeper sound and hook is in their too, unmistakably.
The slow side is one eleven-minute Doom infused bone crusher, “Emptiness.” The band has never done a song like this before, and we can say the same about the short songs – even though they have a lot hard hitting short pieces in their catalogue, they are nothing like the fast side songs here. The combination of these two completely different elements that are also new to the work of the band to this point is a bold move, and one that pays off astronomically. Highly recommended.
An Unexpected Reality is out now from Closed Casket Activities. Most of the vinyl has sold out at last look, including the second pressings. The CD is still available, and of course the digital. You can get these at Bandcamp, etc.
Links,
Bandcamp, https://gatecreeper.bandcamp.com/album/an-unexpected-reality
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gatecreeper
Closed Casket Activities, https://closedcasketactivities.com/collections/cd/products/gatecreeper-an-unexpected-reality-1
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