ALBUM REVIEW: Boundless Domain – Creeping Death
It feels like you’re only ever a few feet away from another death metal band at this point. From new blood to veterans to everyone in between, we’ve been well and truly surrounded over the past few years, and fortunately most of them are really bloody good. Texas’ CREEPING DEATH have been sure of a place towards the top of the list for a little while now – at the very least since the release of their 2019 debut full-length Wretched Illusions – and now as they return with the sophomore LP Boundless Domain they shore up that position even further with ten tracks and 43 minutes of the very finest bludgeoning.
As is the case for most of the best bands in their field, what really works to CREEPING DEATH’s advantage is the fact that they have a fair bit of range. It’s something they demonstrate right from the outset with the opening title track as they run through five and half minutes of doomy heft, mid-paced riffing, killer solos, thrashy turns and filthy grooves as if to prove that they didn’t skip a single class of death metal 101. Pretty much every essential you could ask for is nailed here and throughout, with ideas always given enough time to make their mark and get heads banging, but generally also moved on swiftly enough to ensure that Boundless Domain remains thoroughly gripping from start to finish.
It is also clear that CREEPING DEATH are happy to borrow from hardcore to sharpen their sound further still – something inspired in part by the tragic recent losses of Texan icons like Riley Gale of POWER TRIP and Wade Allison of IRON AGE, and evidenced even in their choice of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz as producer. Sometimes it’s really obvious, such as in tracks like The Parthian Shot and Cursed which both stand out thanks to their absolutely crushing breakdowns, but even beyond that there’s an urgency and an intensity – a rawness even – that feels particularly core-indebted and has yielded similarly excellent results for the likes of UNDEATH, PHOBOPHILIC and TRIBAL GAZE in recent years.
In turn, this helps Boundless Domain maintain a constant sense of momentum that sees it make light work of an already well-judged runtime. It’s neither top-heavy nor bottom-heavy, just rock solid throughout, with as much satisfaction to be taken from the Corpsegrinder feature of Intestinal Wrap or the double-kick pummelling of Vitrified Earth in the album’s early stages as there is from the caveman grooves of Looming or the proggier turns of The Common Breed and The Edge Of Existence later on. No track or performer lets the side down, and the lack of any obvious respite is hardly registered as the band distract you with a riff for every occasion.
Look, there’s no getting away from the fact that the death metal scene is absolutely bursting with quality at the moment; Distorted Sound probably covers at least a couple of records of this nature every week, but you’d only be letting yourself down if you let that put you off adding this one to your list. Boundless Domain is another immensely impressive showing from these Texans and it beats away a lot of the competition essentially through a combination of range, urgency and sheer riff-driven power. Don’t you just love death metal?
Rating: 8/10
Boundless Domain is set for release on June 16th via MNRK Heavy.
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