There are few things as satisfying as straight-up, honest death metal that’s only here to grind you into a pulp. It’s how things were when the sound got started some 30-plus years ago, and as we all know, things have expanded and shapeshifted over time. Still, finding something that’s here to serve a proper beating remains a good time when done right.

“Suffer as One” is the debut full-length from death metal power Living Gate, and despite its members boasting credits in other noteworthy bands such as YOB, Amenra, Oathbreaker, and Wiegedood, this record is a full-on beating. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Levy Seynaeve, guitarist Lennart Bossu, bassist Aaron Rieseberg, drummer Wim Coppers, this group is here to deliver late 1990s-style death metal that aims to reign supreme, dominating with brutality and tenacity that makes it feel like you went several rounds in a cage fight. Sure, the imaginative material that pushes boundaries is fun too, but sometimes you need a nice dose of the guttural stuff.

“To Cut Off the Head of the Snake” rips, mauling growls leading the way, the guitars snaking through rivers of muck. Ugliness thickens as Seynaeve wails, “I am the offering, I am the sacrifice,” as the lumbering madness comes to a crushing end. “Internal Decomposition” mashes, the guitars clashing, even glimmering in spots, deep growls engorging as the bass envelopes. Screams curdle as the playing alters minds, burning in psychedelic heat. “Destroy and Consume” opens with the drums smashing, the plastering playing drawing blood as growls lurch, the battering moving into dangerous heat. The chorus is simple but effective, leads clouding our mind before an abrupt end. “A Unified Soul” has wrenching guitars and punishing howls, thrashing punishment dealt in generous helpings. The atmosphere stretches as the heat brings everything to a boil, shimmering notes dripping in horror. “Massive Depletion in Eb Minor” is a quick interlude with the bass tracing patterns, guitars echoing, a transformative void slipping into the title track where riffs slice through veins. The guitars maul as the force becomes a greater factor, a shredding force working into a disarming calm. Eerie melodies leak out of every crevice, the guitars giving off strange light beams before fading.

“Ones and Zeroes” opens with gasping growls and a bludgeoning force that lays waste. A menacing fury builds as unforgiving growls bury your face in soot, the guitars later going spacey and atmospheric, turning to brutality again for a mashing end. “Hunting Maggots” is a gross idea, and the band explodes into infernal hell, the tempo buckling and punishing, the playing finding a new violent gear. Fluid leads give off a classic death metal feel, and the final moments spit blood and bone. “Atoms and Particles” is sudden and furious, growls punching holes in chests, the pace igniting and delivering a steady diet of speed. Whispery passages send chills before animalistic playing does ample damage, Seynaeve howling, “Abandon all hope!” “Overcome, Overthrow” attacks, meaty growls leaving bruising, thrashy devastation creating a virtual war zone. The vocals change off from shrieks to growls and back, and then a battering force destroys, ungodly destruction meted out generously. Closer “CQC” gurgles with bloody growls, driving death makes safety unattainable, and melodies swim through murk to add some color to the carnage. Leads sprawl as stench and steam arise, a clip of Charles Bukowski taking us out with, “So, I have very little fear of death. I almost welcome it.”

Living Gate deliver old-school, ramming death metal that has little need or use for polish and exists simply to let brutality stab a new path. “Suffer as One” is a tried-and-true exercise in the most unforgiving, filthy version of death, the kind that makes you feel like cobwebs are plastered to your face and that skullduggery is near. It’s a blast from the past into a volatile future, one Living Gate seem only too happy to douse with their own blood.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/LivingGate666/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/living-gate-suffer-as-one

For more on the label, go here: https://www.relapse.com/