Positing the shared suffering of existence as a common bond between afflicted mankind Belgium/United States-based death metal quartet LIVING GATE theme this surprisingly pro debut full-length album on unity, the potential of collaborative existence rather than spell impending doom and nihil out for the listener. ‘Suffer as One‘ conveys spirited, over-active moshable tact in bursts as this relatively new side-project sports a strong technical (but not “tech”) hand which fills every free moment with action. Though some might view these already elsewhere well-established folks as outsider in some vague sense all that matters in the midst of this new gear is the high standard of skillful craft put into this release as a study of second and third-gen death metal precepts without the usual nowadays dumbing down applied to the end result.

Living Gate formed circa 2020 after guitarist/vocalist Levy Seynaeve (Wiegedood) and current Amenra guitarist Lennart Bossu had designs on a death metal project that’d sate their interest in both ‘old school’ aesthetics and the demanding standards of the classics-era at its peak. They’d brought in the very capable drummer Wim Coppers (who also plays in Wiegedood and hardcore band Oathbreaker) but hadn’t found the right bassist until their main band had toured with Yob and got Aaron Rieseberg on board, making pretty quick moves toward their first set of songs and recordings. Skipping any demo-level process and/or smaller label grinding they’d signed with Relapse quick and within the year chipped out their first EP (‘Deathlust‘, 2020) a few months after pandemia hit to some modest notice. It was an exceptional release per its percussive riffcraft, verging on a technical-brutal death infused style that’d chopped out its riffs a la ‘Souls to Deny‘-era Suffocation but with a looser almost Disciples of Power-like meander to its ornate riffcraft clearly capable of even more diverse progressivisms but reigning their focus in to a classicist death metal form. That sound translates directly to what ‘Suffer as One‘ ends up being, an approach which is relatable to the furor of early 2000’s death metal brutality and grooves but still manages to be driven by the riff and not purely exaggerative blasts.

Whether you are a fan of late 90’s-era Deeds of Flesh, the first two Insision records, or just ‘Formulas Fatal to the Flesh‘ the way Living Gate approach densely writ death metal riffcraft appreciably considers variety and brutality at once, finding their pocket in moshable yet extended phrasing which jets between athletic bursts of brutality and slicker left-hand wrenching chord pulling. Opener “To Cut Off the Head of the Snake” resembles a young and plucky (second LP era) Anata where memorable, arguably canonical death metal ideas were forged into intricate pieces via an admirable level of technique applied. The structure of said opener is dizzying as it chops through pit riffs, interruptive grooves, and a running bassline that’d had me labeling this a tech-death album at a glance during previews. The more enthusiasm we get from these folks’ performances the more their high-brained grasp of their instruments shines through and this acts somewhat at odds with the suggestion that their interest is in both old and new schools of death metal, at least in the sense that there isn’t any sloppy caveman nonsense on this record. You won’t even be halfway through Side A before it is clear as day that this is just a good death metal record at a high standard across the board and not part of any ‘new old school’ whatever ideal and to be fair ‘Deathlust‘ had already made that argument, here we’re just getting a bigger more complete vision.

For the death metal elitist seeking authenticity without compromise this band’s whole privileged backstory probably doesn’t have their finger itching to hit play on ‘Suffer As One‘ just yet for the sake of these folks’ main bands generally having nothing to do with the sub-genre in the slightest. This has no real bearing on the end result, I’d argue not only does Living Gate have riffs beyond the norm but their musicianship reaches in excess of creative rhythms in celebrating a certain equitant level of finesse and brutal severity in impressive dynamic, to the point that their thrill-a-minute songcraft begins to stand out as both entertaining and engaged to a point far from any low-set expectations. In simpler terms these guys smoke pretty hard out the gates and dig into their rhythms to the point of quick signature, a knack for a certain type of fast-cycling riff and percussive refrain that is effective even when delivering a relatively short, simplified song (re: “Destroy and Consume“).

Having avoided going full on progressive or tech-death in their introductory full-length Living Gate strike an interesting enough balance, one that acknowledges their skill level without having to dumb down in order to convey their core intent. This allows some due dignity to ‘old school’ death metal in the sense that it -was- a sophisticated craft that’d elevated its virtuosic demands to an insane level from ’91-’95 and as a result ‘Suffer as One‘ recalls that point of refinement and how it’d inspired early 2000’s death metal enthusiasm up to a different level. Those associations aside it is simple a solid death metal record that doesn’t fuck around too much, making good use of its core conceit and the rhythmic vernacular they’ve developed herein.

At their best Living Gate‘s work resembles the high standards of classic North American progressive and/or technical death metal with a brutal edge the Suffo-meets Disciples of Power idea doesn’t quite cover the sweep-picking rake of the title track (“Suffer as One”) and the uniquely set basslines beneath the song as they take a jazzy post-hardcore feeling break a couple of minutes in but it should at least suggest the active role that the dual guitar interplay and riffcraft play in developing complex and abruptly utilized momentum throughout this album. Fans of albums like ‘Planetary Clairvoyance‘ and certain pieces from Inoculation (Ohio) should appreciate this approach at its most blunt yet racing fusion especially when things veer a bit too chunk-core for my own taste (see: “Ones and Zeros”) but when sidled next to what is a clear love for Terrance Hobbs‘ styled riffs (see: “Hunting Maggots“) it all makes sense in succession, treating their premise with reasonable variety that holds its focal point well enough for these ~40 minutes.

There are a few unnecessary or unremarkable pieces here and there, I don’t understand the value of “Overcome, Overthrow” in particular, but as a whole I’d felt this was not only well above-average but remarkable for the personage developed in on a few short years but also the sense depth (illusory and otherwise) via inspired riffcraft and very slick but not unrealistic production values. The overall presentation is well-aided by the surreal legion depicted in album artwork from Marald van Haasteren which features an odd but eye-catching choice for coloration (~periwinkle) and a mesmerizingly organic stare-worthy amount of detail; All things considered, and with the notion of Living Gate being a side project held in mind, ‘Suffer as One‘ is a fine death metal debut which should entertain most anyone looking for a riff-focused death metal album unwilling to “play dumb” in 2024. A high recommendation.

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