CREEPING DEATH is on a quick and furious ascent from the underground. The Texas death metal crew repeatedly delivers a relentless bludgeoning summoned from the furthest reaches of the genre’s past, present, and future. A triumphant celebration of the style itself, the Lone Star State fivesome whips up gruesome riffage and Southern grooves with an improbable cathartic glee.
As Revolver Magazine observed, CREEPING DEATH “assemble hulking riffs, screaming guitar solos, and ghastly vocal lows, and play them with the urgent momentum of a sterling hardcore band.”
The band’s formula hits perfection with the brilliant Boundless Domain, a sophomore slab of spectacular weight, dimension, and might. Produced by Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (As I Lay Dying, The Acacia Strain, Underoath), Boundless Domain is a certified ripper, top to bottom.
“We’ve never sounded better,” guitarist Trey Pemberton shares enthusiastically. “We love the people we’ve recorded with before, but we’ve never had anybody challenge and push us as Adam did.”
In the wake of the passing of local heroes Riley Gale of Power Trip and Wade Allison of Iron Age, the band (Pemberton, singer Reese Alavi, bassist Eric “Rico” Mejia, drummer Lincoln Mullins, and guitarist A.J. Ross, III) found themselves digging back into some of their metallic hardcore favorites.
“We made it a point to bring in more influences from hardcore bands we came up loving, especially Texas hardcore,” Pemberton explains. “There’s a lot of Mammoth Grinder, Iron Age, and Power Trip influence. Having Riley and Wade pass so close to one another left a huge hole in the scene. We all went on a kick of listening to the Texas stuff for a while, and it definitely seeped into our writing.”
Early into the band’s career, MetalSucks encouraged headbangers everywhere to “get your old school death metal fix with new school band Creeping Death.” Naturally, the crushing brutality akin to Gorguts, Grave, Blood Red Throne, and similarly legendary bands remains part of their foundation.
Originally hailing from Denton, Texas, and now situated in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area, CREEPING DEATH summons a vibrant sound that is somehow both familiar and fresh. Their initial outburst, 2016’s three-song Sacrament of Death, introduced them to death and thrash metal audiences, followed two years later by the Specter of War EP. By the time they unleashed 2019’s Wretched Illusions album, Kerrang! hailed Creeping Death as “an underground juggernaut” that “channels all the raddest aspects of metal without getting shoehorned into any clichés.” 2021’s The Edge of ExistenceEP further demonstrated the power, fury, and revelry at the heart of their identity.
Tours with High On Fire, The Acacia Strain, Rotting Out, Terror and The Warriors spread the CREEPING DEATH message. Crowds succumbed to the group’s combination of endlessly catchy riffage, precise percussion, and storytelling lyrics.
Early 2023 saw Creeping Death travel overseas to the UK and Europe with Revocation and Goatwhore. A US trek supporting Carcass, Municipal Waste, and Sacred Reich is on the books.
“We’ve freely admitted that we are a selfish band, in so much as we really only write music for us,” guitarist Trey Pemberton explains. “We make music that’s fun for us to play and that we like to listen to ourselves. After all, we’re the ones who are going to hear these songs the most, night after night.”
Boundless Existence boasts future death metal classics like the super heavy, fast, and groovy “Intestinal Wrap” (which features George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher of Cannibal Corpse). “Vitrified Earth” showcases Creeping Death’s increasing skills at songcraft, most evident with the cadence and phrasing of Alavi’s vocals while never neglecting the sick riffs. Toward the album’s end, there’s even a bit of a spaced-out atmosphere, with guitar effects, harmonies, and heady time signatures.
“We just want to be heavy and fun,” Pemberton says without apology. “You’ll hear a natural progression from Wretched Illusions to Boundless Domain. Each release will be at least a little bit different from the other, but they will all still sound like CREEPING DEATH. That’s who we are.”
LINEUP
- Reese Alavi – Vocals
- Trey Pemberton – Guitar
- J. Ross III – Guitar
- Eric “Rico” Mejia – Bass
- Lincoln Mullins – Drums
SELECT DISCOGRAPHY
- Boundless Domain (2023)
- The Edge of Existence EP (2021)
- Wretched Illusions (2019)
- Specter of War EP (2018)
Sacrament of Death EP (2016)
