“I built a trailer that was big enough for me and eight guitars. Then I proceeded to travel, seeing everything that was out there”: How Gabe Mangold tracked a death metal record in the desert – and how the Quad Cortex redefined his songwriting

Gabe Mangold says there’s nothing he loves more than “nature and heavy fucking death metal” – and for the past seven years, his life has been loaded with that duality. Just before he joined American deathcore band Enterprise Earth in 2017, in a quest for perspective, he did what every sane person would do: he converted a trailer into a studio and traveled the American West, pounding out savage, genre-mutilating riffs along the way.

“I went out to a little hippie town called Taos in New Mexico to learn how to build Earthships [solar homes],” he says of his domestic upheaval. “I didn’t feel like I had set roots or stability, so I ran with it and I fell in love with the lifestyle.

“I lived out of my Subaru Forester for six months, but I needed more space, so I built a trailer that was big enough for me and eight guitars. Then I proceeded to travel, seeing everything that was out there and gaining perspective.”

He continues: “I don’t like to believe my inspiration can be handicapped or limited by my location – if you’ve got to travel to the Scottish Highlands just to write a song, then what’s the point? When I’m writing in my trailer, it doesn’t matter where I am.”

But he adds: “It’s comforting that, when I need a break, I can step out into a starry night; I can’t hear a single sound and I can see the Milky Way. It’s an inspiring and nurturing environment.”

It was in his self-built trailer, Nessa, that much of Enterprise Earth’s pummelling new album Death: An Anthology was tracked. But how the hell does one record an album in the middle of the desert?

“I’m a very in-the-box producer,” Mangold says. “Everything I need is in my laptop or my Quad Cortex. That’s changed the way I write, with automated pitch-shifting and doing all kinds of wonky effects. It took all the best elements of all of the modelers and put it into one.”

Automation and pitch-shifting is all over the record. Groove and unapologetically heavily palm-muted chugs will always remain a core ingredient to the Enterprise thump – but the Quad Cortex has made it possible to add gloriously ridiculous noises to the maelstrom.

“I’m always looking for ways to make things quirky, but still make it flow,” Mangold smiles. “For the intro of Psalm of Agony [from 2022’s The Chosen], it’s pitch-shifting from D down to a double drop A, and then down to a double drop G# and it goes back and forth between those. In Face of Fear, I’m automating the QC pitch shifter to go on and off in 16th notes, so it’s like you’re scratching a record.

“In terms of tone, I just cannot get away from the 5153 red channel mode on the QC,” he confesses. “There’s a reason why 5150s and 6505s are so tried and true. So those, with an Orange 4×12 IR and a Fortin 33 Clean Boost in front are pretty consistent across all my rhythm and lead tones.”

Mangold relies on a Fender Twin with a Blues Driver in front for clean tones that are “broken up a bit.” He explains: “I’ve always been a sucker for Stevie Ray Vaughan’s tone – slightly overdriven and on the neck pickup of fourth position. It always sounds… urgh… amazing!”

The record’s riffs were summoned up from two guitars: an Aristides 080S and a modern relic in his Strictly 7 Solar, a brand that was making waves in the 2010s. At one point, it boasted Joshua Travis, Tesseract’s Acle Kahney and Ola Englund amongst its signature artists.

“They were building all these amazing baritone instruments,” Mangold enthuses. “I played a friend’s in 2012 and I thought it was the most comfortable, best fucking guitar I’d ever played in my life. So I went out and bought one.”

A change of ownership at the company saw things go south at an alarming rate: take a quick dive into forums and you’re met with a horror stories about terrible build quality, poor communication and staunch recommendations to stay well away.

“They royally fucked up,” Mangold sighs, “but before that happened, they were making some of the best guitars in the world. I’m fortunate to have one of the good ones.”

The Aristides has a much more positive backstory. A signature artist, he’s in good company alongside Ihsahn, Spiritbox’s Mike Stringer – who was pivotal in bringing extended-range EverTune bridges to the fore – and Caligula’s Horse chief Sam Vallen.

“They make some of the best instruments in the game,” Mangold states. “Their attention to detail and craftsmanship is unmatched. It’s rocking Lundgren M8 pickups. They can’t be beaten for surgically tight, low-tuned metal.

“They’re low in response, super-tight, and have a very defined mid and highs. I like that they’re a little sterile.” He adds: “I have Bare Knuckle Nailbombs in the seven. They’re more classically voiced and much livelier, but I love them both.”

Death: An Anthology is full of dazzling solos – but none stand out quite like the dizzying tapping in King of Ruination. It pays tribute to two influential guitar players in Mangold’s life.

“I was not hiding anything – it’s shamelessly Frederick Thorendal!” he laughs. “It’s also a homage to my guitar teacher from back in the day. He was this jazz guy who was also into death metal and he’s the one who introduced me to Meshuggah and a load of other bands.

“He played these chromatic runs but displaced certain notes in different octaves. All 12 notes of the scale were there, but they’d be all over the place. And that’s exactly what I did; displacing notes however I saw fit. It’s 12 notes in groups of three, but the groove is in seven, which is adding a disorientating polymeter.”

There’s also a minor second harmony added via the Quad Cortex, as well as a chorus effect – and the latter is often Mangold’s secret sauce. “I like to throw a chorus pedal on to spread out my tone,” he explains. “If you also add an octave up effect at 50 percent, you get both pitches and it creates this eerie effect.”

Enterprise Earth’s latest LP is designed as a guitarist’s wet dream, whatever your kink. The band is stuck with the deathcore label – but the music transcends well beyond that.

“We tried to put every different kind of metal into this,” Mangold says. “It’s a fun album that any type of player can have a good time listening to. It’s heavy. It’s aggressive. It’s moody.”

In December 2023, with his life far more settled, he retired from the nomad lifestyle. Setting up base in Del Norte, Colorado, he’s begun building a studio with a slightly larger footprint. It’ll have real amps – “It’s gonna cost me thousands!”

Marking the start of a new personal and professional chapter for the guitarist, he says it’s in a location that isn’t “meet me in the desert by this cactus.” Nessa’s legacy, meanwhile, lives on in Death: An Anthology, having served a spiritual and musical purpose at an incredibly delicate time in Gabe Mangold’s life.

• Death: An Anthology is out now. Enterprise Earth hit the road in April – see Bandsintown for full dates.