Interview by Kris Peters
Hailing from the deserts of Arizona, US death metal outfit Gatecreeper has set the heavy music world alight in their ten years as a band, combining old-school Swedish sounds with American hardcore sensibilities to create a fusion easily identifiable as their own.
With a new album set for release this year, Gatecreeper have also signified their intent to colonise Australia, with a run of ten dates starting on the Gold Coast on April 4.
HEAVY caught up with vocalist Chase Mason to find out more.
"We came over for the first time last year and played a couple of shows," Mason began, "and this year we're coming back for ten shows with Kruelty from Japan and World Of Joy, who is from Brisbane I believe."
We point out the band will be playing ten shows in eleven days, which sounds like a lot of work.
"Yeah, packing it all in," he smiled.
HEAVY poses the question of what sorts of things the band does to physically and mentally prepare for a run of shows like that so far from home.
"We've been touring now for several years," he replied. "I think everybody develops their own personal plan or their own personal way of dealing with being on the road for weeks at a time. For me personally, an important part is getting your alone time when you can. Sneaking off and getting food by yourself, or something as simple as having headphones in and zoning out. For me, being around people all the time drives me crazy."
In the full interview, Chase talks more about preparing for a tour like this, what has changed with Gatecreeper since they were last year 12 months ago, what we can expect from the shows, what the band expects from their audience, signing with Nuclear Blast Records and what that means to the band, their upcoming album and what to expect, how their music has changed over the course of each album and more.