Band:	Creeping Death
Album:	Boundless Domain
Style:	Death metal, Hardcore
Release date:	June 2023

01. Boundless Domain
02. Intestinal Wrap [feat. Corpsegrinder]
03. Vitrified Earth
04. The Parthian Shot
05. Creators Turned Into Prey
06. Cursed
07. Remnants Of The Old Gods
08. Looming
09. The Common Breed
10. The Edge Of Existence

Just what we need, another sandbox game. 

The underground death metal scene has been bubbling away in recent years, thanks to strong releases from bands like Gatecreeper and Texas' own Creeping Death, who threaten to boil over with their second full-length Boundless Domain. It can be easy to get burnt out on a genre that often favours extremity over ingenuity, but Creeping Death sound fresh and exciting without sacrificing either. 

Throwing down the gauntlet with a strong opening shot, Boundless Domain starts as it means to go on, taking no prisoners with an unrelenting run of high-quality death metal. From the title track, through to the likes of "The Parthian Shot", which does well at dialling back on the all-out assault and leaning into the groove, shaking things up without losing listener interest, the album has plenty to offer to listeners. "Creators Turned Into Prey" mixes death metal with hardcore tendencies, with riffs and breaks that will get any pit started. Kicking things up another gear is "Remnants Of The Old Gods", which sounds like a hardcore track with a death metal engine powering it, careening around your eardrums while barely holding on, a potent mix if there was one. 

Thanks to the strong production work of Killswitch Engage's Adam Dutkiewicz, Boundless Domain bursts out the speakers and engages you by sheer volume and violence. The choice of Dutkiewicz was an astute one, for his ability to balance power and vibrancy in sound elevates tracks like "Vitrified Earth" as you are able to easily enjoy the intricacies of the band, rather than have your ears melted off by the sheer unintelligible power of the band as a whole, something that is often an issue with death metal. 

Pemberton and Ross' guitar work is perhaps what defines Boundless Domain, with their hardcore tones playing death metal riffs giving tracks like "Cursed" a raw and rough appeal. Mullins bridges the divide between the two genres, playing with a death metal energy, but from with a punk approach. Combining these elements, Creeping Death have stumbled upon a recipe that needs only some refinement before it impresses even the most Gordon Ramsey-esque critic. 

What are these refinements? Well, Alvai does have a powerful voice, but there is too little variation across the album for it not to lose its initial impact rather quickly; by the time the album has finished you'll be wanting a palette cleanser and a lozenge, as your throat will feel sore vicariously. Pemberton and Ross could do with one or two more memorable riffs across the record; while the guitar work is solid, they just need a signature riff to hang their hats on, something that Boundless Domain lacks. 

Creeping Death have put their hat in the ring for one of the strongest death metal releases this year with Boundless Domain: no mean feat for a band on their second full-length. Worth keeping your eye out for sure.