10th August 2023

Review: “Dead Man’s Hand” by Gator Pit

“The song [Dead Man’s Hand] and the video on the surface is about alcoholism, the doom that is sure to follow, and the work it takes to overcome it. The whole release is symbolic of overcoming obstacles and working hard to achieve what you want. We are a very DIY kind of band and we get what we make of it. From start to finish we made everything you see and hear; we wrote the songs, we recorded them at I/O Detroit – a studio we helped create with the very talented Pat Sheufelt, and the video was shot, edited, and directed by our drummer Nick Sheufelt. Our merch is even made by our singer Luke Baewer. We’re just very proud to have created something at this level. We also can’t thank Pat from I/O Detroit enough for delivering such a huge sound for us.” ~ Gator Pit

Describing themselves simply as Chaotic Metalcore with a Southern Drawl, Detroit Michigan’s Gator Pit have been around since 2014 playing a wealth of DIY shows, as Tommy Lee Jones put it when he played Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive back in 1993: “at every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area”. Debut EP “Deathroll” landed its assault on the senses in 2019 and now they return with “Dead Man’s Hand“, so what does it have in store for us?

The answer to that one isn’t quite as simple as the description that the band give themselves as “Dirt Idol” plunges the discerning listener into a World of darkness fuelled by addiction. An introspective lyrical narrative becomes a cathartic vent as Baewer roars his way out of his personal hell, the band progressively slowing the soundscape down and the song plays out. Savage and brutal there is a fleeting moment when things threaten to go feral however the band pull back, saving the train from derailment like superheroes. Dirty Hardcore Punk riffs burn the ear drums on “Dead Man’s Hand” as the band flip the script to add gang chant and cleaner but not clean vocal moments and embrace a little sonic diversity without losing sight of their core sound. Again the tempo shifts are cleverly worked while the chorus will have you chanting along on the first run. Baewer’s vocal range is impressive as he reaches toward the void into Deathcore at points, the screams of “You let the party die!” something that is going to go down particularly well live. “Hard Knocks” flies out of the gate like a dungeon whippet with a few Misfits leaning moments, the attitude and swagger of this that of a band brimming with confidence. There are obvious references to Scissorfight with Everytime I Die in the riff department, the band blurring the genre lines while refusing to go style over substance and making something first and foremost sounds good. Gator Pit have an infectious energy that continues into “Bad Candy“, a new version of an older song sounds just as punchy, aggressive and infuriatingly catchy as it did when it first polluted our ear drums. The clever infusion of Metal and Hardcore Punk “The Long Goodbye” finds the band teasing us with melody before the skull battering begins. As with some of the other tracks, it sounds like Baewer has a split personality as he delivers two distinctly different vocal styles to get his lyrics across while this one cleverly ends with a soaring, aching moment of melancholia [7.5/10]

Track Listing