Live Review: Gatecreeper - The Fleece, Bristol
31st October 2024
Support: 200 Stab Wounds and Enforced
Words: Richard Oliver
Photos: Tom Atkin (Islington Academy, London)
It was my second night at Bristol’s Fleece in a row and it was another stacked night of US bands with all three bands bringing something different to the table.
Opening up the night were Virginia crossover thrashers Enforced who certainly got the night off to a bang. Arriving on stage with no fanfare or intro tape, these guys just dived on and proceeded to thrash the Bristol crowd to oblivion with their bludgeoning hardcore infused brand of thrash. It was a short and sharp half an hour set but it was enough time for Enforced to demonstrate what they do best with songs that mixed speed and aggression, mid-paced chug and of course those glorious thrashy breakdowns which got the first pit of the night going.
Enforced had not long released their new E.P. “A Leap Into The Dark” so there were a few cuts taken from that with the furious stomp of the title track going down well with the Bristol crowd as well as some furious cuts from their previous three albums with a clobbering ‘War Remains’ bringing the set to a suitably vicious end. Enforced may have only had a short set but it was one hell of a warm up for the further carnage to come.
And speaking of carnage, the band in the main support slot were Cleveland death metallers 200 Stab Wounds. 200 Stab Wounds have a fair bit of hype around them with an excellent second album “Manual Manic Procedures” having been released in June and from this performance the hype is well and truly justified.
200 Stab Wounds have a sound that clearly takes influence from Cannibal Corpse as well as a lot of the classic Florida death metal bands but there is also a shit ton of dirty groove as well as bagfuls of hardcore stomp and from the moment the band hit the stage to the moment they left it was pretty much non stop carnage. It is a very busy sound with loads of time changes and transitions but a plentiful supply of absolutely disgusting riffs and brutal rhythmic shifts. This clearly went down well with some truly vicious moshpit action taking place which at times got a bit too carried away.
There was a bit of a dickhead contingent who had no basic crowd etiquette with some pit goers nearly coming to blows and others just being belligerent arseholes literally shoving their way through the crowd to get to the bar. Thankfully the annoying actions of a minority didn’t spoil the set which was a masterclass in nasty groovy death metal with ‘Hands Of Eternity’ and ‘Itty Bitty Pieces’ being particular highlights. This was only the band’s second international tour and they were clearly very pleased to be there with an energetic performance reciprocated by a hungry crowd.
The night started brilliantly with Enforced, picked up even more for 200 Stab Wounds and then got astronomically better for Gatecreeper who performed what is easily one of the best death metal sets I think I have ever seen. It was also certainly one of the best sounding with every instrument having perfect clarity and not a hint of muddiness with those HM-2 guitar riffs sounding sharp enough to tear your flesh and the drums sounding like heavy artillery being fired.
The energy levels of the performance were insane and that fed straight back into the crowd who were either smashing each other to smithereens in the pit or even those standing sensibly towards the back (myself included) were banging their heads and moving their bodies. Frontman Chase H. Mason is an excellent frontman that truly knows how to get the crowd going but also make the crowd feel like they are part of the show - being played with rather than played to.
Having released new album “Dark Superstition” back in May, a good chunk of the set was taken from said album with new material such as ‘Dark Star’, ‘The Black Curtain’ and ‘Caught In The Treads’ sitting very comfortably alongside older cuts such as ‘From The Ashes’, ‘Craving Flesh’ and ‘Flamethrower’ with the songs being a nice mix of face rippers, stompers and headbangers with even some touches of melodic death metal especially in their newer material.
It was a really well crafted set which varied the pace and also showcased the range of the Gatecreeper material. By the time the set came to a close there were plenty of dishevelled and sweat drenched individuals pouring out of the venue and into the street to cool down and Gatecreeper had well and truly done their job. An extremely satisfying evening of thrash and death metal which will have ensured ringing ears and stiff necks the next morning.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
