EP REVIEW: Haunt – Creature
Given how close together its predecessors arrived, it’s safe to say that Haunt feels a little overdue. The final chapter in a trilogy that began with Hex and Hound – released in May and October 2019 respectively – this latest EP from Birmingham trio CREATURE proves that the band haven’t lost a shred of their most compelling intensity in the intervening years. Like both records before it, Haunt is a work of squealing, sludgy metallic hardcore horribleness – all that meant in the best possible way. It tips its hat to all the right places, with an 11-minute runtime that practically evaporates before your eyes.
With four tracks each landing between the two to three-minute mark, you’ll find no fat whatsoever on Haunt. Opener and lead single All gets straight to the point – a quick shout of “There’s a problem with how people are living” providing the only warning we get before the band thunder into life with a pure and primal sludgy crush. It’s a thoroughly punishing affair, offering up some frankly staggering grooves that could even make GOJIRA do a double-take. Lyrically, it finds vocalist/guitarist James Thompson utterly incensed at the state of global inequality. He spews expected bile directly towards our own government here in the UK, but there is also a reminder that we’re all in this together, as Thompson aptly reminds us “Don’t think “it’s them” but think “it’s us” / This mess is ours, let’s clean it up.”
If you liked All, you’ll have no issues with what comes next either. Second track Grey Ghosts is just as much of a rager; it couples something resembling the winding riffery of a band like MASTODON with the sheer snarling fury of UK hardcore heroes GALLOWS for results which are every bit as salivating as that sounds. Bassist Dan Willet cuts through particularly clearly – especially on the song’s borderline anthemic chorus. Drummer Tom Bradshaw pulls his own weight too, his hefty grooves holding it all together as they benefit from Steve Sears’ crisp, clear production.
The riffs twist and turn further still on Creeping, with this one adding more of a stabby mathy feel for good measure. That sound comes even more to the fore on closer Lines, a track whose dissonant panic chords, raging D-beats and squealing Kurt Ballou-esque guitar lines all feel very CONVERGE-esque – which of course is a very good thing. Even for a record as short and sharp as this there is something of an epic, climactic feel here, thanks especially to Thompson’s soaring leads and the rousing clean vocal cries “No I can’t help it”. Creating this sense of journey in such a short runtime is no mean feat – and yet CREATURE absolutely nail it.
Ultimately then, Haunt provides a reminder of something anyone who heard the first two EPs should have known already: CREATURE are one of the most exciting hardcore bands in the UK at the moment. That’s not a statement to make lightly given the quality of the current scene, but we mean every word. Welcome back CREATURE – let’s have a full-length soon yeah?
Rating: 8/10
Haunt is set for release on June 10th via Grey Ghost Records.
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