ALBUM REVIEW: Wretched Illusions – Creeping Death

There is no doubt that currently, 2019 is kicking tremendous amounts of ass with the sheer amount of releases this year. The best thing about all of this quality music is that a lot of it is coming from relatively fresh acts. With bands like HIGH COMMAND leading the charge for a thrash metal revival, bands like TOMB MOLD have been waving the flag for death metal this year with pride. Now looking to join the Canadians on top of the death metal mountain is CREEPING DEATH, who have released their debut just ahead of arguably their closest sounding contemporary in GATECREEPER.

With all this quality death metal floating about, there is definitely a question of where CREEPING DEATH fit into the scene. The Texas natives have been steadily dropping EPs since the group’s inception, and now with Wretched Illusions are ready to take a step forward with their writing, and it is really a bit good. CREEPING DEATH are difficult to mince your words with, considering the sinister and emphatic sounds that the group are able to conjure. As the opening 10 seconds of Ripping Through Flesh make the skin crawl before diving directly into a torrent of powerful, and familiar, death metal. The riffs crunch like a breaking bone, and the drums are relentless, bouncing from chugging double bass to rock steady rhythms and back again. 

There are a lot of noticeable elements present throughout Wretched Illusions. From the thrash influence that comes through, likely thanks to fellow statesmen POWER TRIP, as well as the classic Florida death metal of bands like OBITUARY, there is a lot of familiarity when it comes to CREEPING DEATH. This can sometimes come across as a bad thing if bands aren’t able to work their influences into a suitably unique sound, but CREEPING DEATH are no such band. The lead lines in Captivity are evil as you like, and there is even a cheeky nod towards hardcore as the song progresses, and given this is still reasonably early into the album, is paints Wretched Illusion as a death metal record truly worth sinking your teeth into. 

As the album progresses tracks like World Decay are sluggish and frightfully heavy cuts, with the final moments comfortably sitting as the heaviest in the album. CREEPING DEATH aren’t just here to write crushing music, but also to imbue the music with a chest pounding level of machismo that can be lost on music that is unnecessarily intricate or fast. The title track simply continues this theme with a raw thrash metal segment, and the final track Consumed closes out the album in emphatic fashion and doesn’t sound too far removed from the classic BLOODBATH track Eaten in theme, even if it does lack the almost catchy song-writing. 

CREEPING DEATH have done well with Wretched Illusions. The patchwork blanket of influences is clear to see but not all the album is, as CREEPING DEATH are able to weave a meaty and enjoyable album that never feels stale or like they’re retreading ideas as the album continues. Paced excellently and with enough power to turn even the most timid of fans into a raging monster, Wretched Illusions is another tab for 2019’s victorious release list. If you like death metal, you will have little to complain about with this one. 

Rating: 8/10

Wretched Illusions is out now via eOne.

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