It’s on this basis that Gatecreeper’s second and latest full-length, Deserted, takes death metal from its 80s Floridian roots and 90s Swedish expansion straight into the here and now. In fact, the vanguard of death metal in 2019 can be found under Arizona’s searing sun. That’s where Gatecreeper’s members—Mason, guitarist Eric Wagner, bassist Sean Mears, drummer Matt Arrebollo and guitarist Nate Garrett—make their homes, spread across the twin frying pans of Phoenix and Tucson.
Of course, the band nodded to their scorching home state with the title of their 2016 full-length debut, Sonoran Depravation. The theme continues on Deserted, which boasts songs like “Sweltering Madness,” “Boiled Over” and the double-meaning title track. “Arizona is the last place people expect a death metal band—or any kind of band—to come from,” Mason says. “I think that makes us unique. And we rep where we’re from pretty hard.”
Like its predecessor, Deserted was recorded at Homewrecker Studios in Tucson, where Gatecreeper co-produced the album with engineer Ryan Bram. Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou handled the mix at Godcity in Salem, MA, and Brad Boatright mastered the album at Audiosiege in Portland, OR. Deserted’s hallucinatory cover art was created by Brad Moore, who did the mind-bending piece on the cover of Tomb Mold’s Manor Of Infinite Forms and whose death metal CV can be traced all the way back to Morpheus Descends’ 1992 disc, Ritual Of Infinity.
But make no mistake: Deserted is the record that separates Gatecreeper, once and for all, from the legion of HM-2 bands currently littering the death metal landscape. “Of course you wanna make a better record than you did before,” Mason observes. “The idea is to improve on what you’ve done before without really changing it that much. I kind of take pride in not being a progressive band. It’s very obvious what our influences are, and that’s fine. It’s like making a mixtape of our favorite bands, combining them into one thing and making it our own.
“Nobody has riffs anymore,” says founding member/vocalist/guitarist Jacob Duarte when asked about his approach on 12th House Rock, Narrow Head’s highly anticipated LP for Run for Cover due on August 28. “That’s the kind of band we are and to me, that’s just how you write songs. Drums, bass, guitar, vocals. Nothing else. There are no other instruments on the record.”
The Houston-based band’s latest entry is the distillation of the greatest moments in 90’s alternative and hard rock with a fresh set of ears, thirteen tracks of their signature brand of bludgeoning lullabies bursting at the seams with creative ideas, new directions and yes, massive, monolithic riffs. In between the sparkle and smash, open-hearted and emotionally naked songwriting showcases a core piece of the band’s identity– showcasing 12th House Rock as one of the best releases of 2020. “It’s the definitive work of Narrow Head,” proudly explains bassist Ryan Chavez. “Recorded in a studio over a month’s span, the way they used to do it. Not just for the sake of making it that way, but because it was the right way for us.”
Delving into deep-seated themes of self loathing, desolation, self-medication, the loss of loved ones and hopeful redemption,12th House Rock is, as the title suggests, a rock-focused LP themed on transition– exploring the vast abyss of darkness just before the sun cracks upon the horizon. “A lot of the record was made in the late hours and early morning,” recalls Duarte. ”Those quiet moments alone when utter silence and my self-medication made it impossible to escape from my own thoughts. It was also from a specific time when I didn’t take care of myself and made bad decisions in all aspects of my life. These songs were a way out, temporarily anyway.”
Duarte references specific songs on the record as touchstones within that dark period. “’Emmadazey’ and ‘Hard to Swallow’ were inspired by pharmaceuticals and when the people around you know that you’re making bad decisions but are afraid to tell you,” he reveals. “’Crankcase. is about staying up for days at a time, not eating and chain smoking.” Guitarist William Menjivar is also quick to add that “’Ponderosa’ is about big life choices and the empty feelings of ‘What if?’ thinking about whether or not your decision was the right one. In the end it doesn’t matter because you can never take it back.” Yet while all the songs follow explore the darkness, Menjivar adds emphatically that 12th House Rock “does have moments of optimism and sentimentality, so it’s not a completely dark record. Nostalgia is also something we want people to feel when they listen to this.”
Rising from the Texas underground scene, Narrow Head formed in 2013 but became fully realized as a band in Houston with the release of their 2016 debut LP Satisfaction and the lineup of Duarte, Menjivar and drummer Carson Wilcox. Playing in the Texas scene instilled a can-do attitude, an ability to explore several different ideas along with a strong set of DIY ethics, qualities that still form the basis of the band to this day. “Book your own shows, book your own tours,” details Duarte about the foundation of his musical viewpoint. ”I think that having other musical projects provided a scene for us to play too. Nobody else was looking at us, so we had to make our own scene.”
The band’s second and highly-anticipated LP 12th House Rock was self-produced and born of close to a hundred takes with no click track, vocal correction, drum samples or quantizing, resulting in thirteen testaments to pulverizing pop clocking in above 50 minutes. Initially only Duarte, Menjivar and Wilcox in 2018, the trio of old friends entered the studio with a batch of songs intending to write bass parts on the fly. “I have known Jacob and Carson since childhood and they are the most talented musicians– total prodigies,” states Menjivar. The three looked to build an LP that reflected current tastes as well as “music [they] looked up to as kids,” according to Menjivar, adding their own twist on the entirety of it.
Though the primary trio was present throughout the entire cycle, fate would intervene on bass as the undeniable chemistry between the band and then strictly producer Ryan Chavez led to his inclusion in Narrow Head. “Once we got in the studio and started recording demos for the album, I got along with them well and felt full of ideas on how to play bass for certain tracks,” explains Chavez. The newly minted four piece would handle the bulk of the remainder of the LP, bringing in Erica Miller of Big Bite/Casual Hex, vocalist/lyricist on “Delano Door,” and mastering guru Sarah Register to put the final touches on the record. Guitarist Kora Puckett (Bugg, ex-Sheer Mag), who previously logged hours as a live member in the tours preceding the LP, would join Narrow Head as a full-fledged member following the LP’s completion.
Using distorted guitars as their primary vehicle, Narrow Head’s wall of riffs add stark contrast to their best quality– deceptively sweet pop melodies that channel the lessons of My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, Helmet, Deftones and Guided by Voices all at once. “Distortion provides a harmonic sound that feels like static texture,” details Duarte. “It feels smooth while being loud and noisy at the same time. But some of our favorite bands don’t use distortion– all music inspires us. Loud rock is only the first part of our formula– this record is our take on music we like from the last 20 years.”
Yet despite whatever comparisons that can be made to guitar tone, mood, songwriting, timbre or virtually anything else, Narrow Head are quick to credit their native Houston, TX as the primary source for it all. “Houston is the greatest city on earth,” says Duarte emphatically. “People who know, know. In Houston, you have to give people a reason to pay attention to you.” With 12th House Rock, not only will Narrow Head have Houston’s attention, but the entire rock world as well.
