LIVING GATE - Suffer As One
October 27, 2024, 3 weeks ago
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I would never sit around thinking about how someone from almighty doom slugs Yob would probably craft killer old-school death metal—I've literally never once thought about this—but here we have it, the debut from the oddly named Living Gate, featuring bassist Aaron Rieseberg of Yob (as well as members of Oathbreaker and Amenra), laying down totally killer old-school death metal.
Check out opener “To Cut Off The Head Of The Snake”, which balances prehistoric pummel with jagged technicality in a way that never betrays '91 (and ends with a bonkers solo, to boot). “Internal Decomposition” lays down the blastbeats with a steady skill, while “Destroy And Consume” goes sideways with the weirdo riffing – what a great opening trio of tunes.
The second half of the album, as separated by not-bad interlude “Massive Depletion In Eb Minor”, just continues the carnage, Living Gate establishing themselves astonishingly fast here, quietly stepping up behind the Tomb Molds and Gatecreepers of today to respectfully await the credit they so rightly deserve after putting together a first offering as rock-solid and respectful as Suffer As One.
