CREEPER
Crushing
No Life ’Til Metal (2025)
Rating: 6/10
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With their second full-length album, Texan band Creeper returns after a 13 year absence with a disappointing slice of groove thrash. Very much dated in sound, Crushing hardly lives up to its name as the Dallas act churns out a mid-to-late 90s generic metal that panders to the likes of Pantera.
I’m not sure if it’s the routine macho vocal yelps of Texx Duncan or the tried and no longer trusted riffs, but this is a record that just gets my back up from the off. Songs such as ‘The River’ and ‘Crushing’ have been floating around for a while, and they sum up the sound of Creeper. The riffs are heavy, simplistically trudging with a dollop of streetcore attached. ‘The River’ contains some of the most childish lyrics I’ve heard in a while (“I took a walk by the river today, that old southern sun was beating down on me”) as Duncan attempts to convince me of the band’s sincerity of urban mosh.
The opening title track showcases the bludgeoning power of axe team Paul and Jimi Fritz who keep things simple yet confrontational as Duncan barks: “So what the fuck do I do, after all that you put me through”. Surely other listeners are cringing at some of these lyrics? Anyway, as the album unravels one hears a mix of Slayer, White Zombie, Corrosion Of Conformity and the aforementioned Pantera. There’s little to be inspired by the formulaic grinds and scowling drip with a southern metal angst for the most part’ while ‘Big Bad Wolf’ is archetypal modern featureless thrash.
Chuggernaught ‘Ten Bells’ – inspired by the crimes of London’s Jack The Ripper – will appeal to the headbangers no doubt. The drums of Kurtis Lawrence are tough pounds that echo through the skull, and there’s a tidy solo to contend with. ‘White Devil’ is choppy and to the point, ‘Screamin’ Demon’ is very similar to Pantera, especially with Duncan’s rasps, and ‘The Siege’ does well to pick up the face.
Crushing is not an album that excites though, Creeper flexing the muscles but to little effect. Had this been released in 1995 this might’ve achieved its aim, but decades later Creeper sound sterile.
Neil Arnold
