Formed in 2013, Gatecreeper have spent the last decade steadily climbing the death metal ladder. Their self-titled 2014 EP established instant credibility as purveyors of the old-school form.

Gatecreeper’s third full-length sees the Arizona death metal specialists—vocalist Chase H. Mason, guitarists Eric Wagner and Israel Garza, drummer Metal Matt Arrebollo and bassist Alex Brown—carving out their own path. The band’s first album for Nuclear Blast is more concise, melodic, and memorable than anything they’ve done in the past. “We refined the song structures,” Mason says. “We’re getting better at what we do.”