Review by Nathan on March 15, 2021.

When it comes to this sub-style of entropic, speedy and tremolo-heavy death metal (which I will henceforth be referring to colloquially as “Blast Death”), it’s often the little things that move a band from “I like the idea but never actually listen to them” to “this rules and I listen to it regularly”. The template of constant blast beats, riffs that equally draw from more abrasive, atonal sides of death metal and with a bit of first-wave black metal sprinkled in, and a steady and unwavering vocal tone is a rigid and thoroughly established one, so once an artist has identified themselves as being within that paradigm (as Creeping Fear has done by recommended their new album for fans of the two quintessential Blast Death bands, Hate Eternal and Angelcorpse), they’re pigeonholed into a very specific formula that they can’t do much else with, lest they label their sound improperly.

Creeping Fear knew this, though, and moreover they had already established their sound with the full-length before this one, Onward to Apocalypse, which they ensured fell right into all the Blast Death guidelines, so all that was left to do was refine what was already there. As a result, the improvements made on Hategod Triumph have to do more with the nuts and bolts behind the scenes - the clarity of the production, balancing the mix, composing the songs with more efficiency and less tangents - as opposed to any surface changes or integration of new riff techniques. To sum it up in a sentence, they ramped up the professionalism in their delivery, highlighted by artwork by the omnipresent Paolo Girardi (known for his album covers for bands such as Power Trip, Artificial Brain and Chthe’ilist among many others). It’s surprising that such a minor polishing job and little to no other changes to Creeping Fear’s music would make such a difference, but Hategod Triumph has a much easier time snapping me to attention than the first album did, despite the song ideas being essentially identical.

90% of the reason for that is because of the vocals. Clément Ducouret has an incredibly natural harsh tone that sounds like a younger and more feral Martin van Drunen, and anyone who knows that name knows his style is not easy to replicate. That raw, shotgun screech is present in Ducouret’s voice in full force and it can turn a generic riff into an earworm. As a vocalist myself, it makes me incredibly envious that this guy just sounds like this automatically when I could practice trying to get that tone for years and not come anywhere close. It was too loud on Onward to Apocalypse, bringing forth too much of the strain and phlegm in the voice, but on this new full-length it’s dialed back enough that it still gives you that prickly feeling while also trimming off the extra breathy vestiges. The kicker is that Ducouret is also the guitarist and composer, ripping mad Blast Death tremolo riffs the whole time he’s letting out his blood-curdling screech. As if I needed another reason to be jealous!

With careful modifications to their foundation, more well-rounded songwriting and creating the right environment to showcase Ducouret’s unreal vocal tone, Creeping Fear turned a good album into a great one. If you like Hate Eternal, Cannibal Corpse and Immolation, this should be up your alley - and even if you don’t normally listen to that stuff, you need to hear these vocals.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Nathan on March 15, 2021.

When it comes to this sub-style of entropic, speedy and tremolo-heavy death metal (which I will henceforth be referring to colloquially as “Blast Death”), it’s often the little things that move a band from “I like the idea but never actually listen to them” to “this rules and I listen to it regularly”. The template of constant blast beats, riffs that equally draw from more abrasive, atonal sides of death metal and with a bit of first-wave black metal sprinkled in, and a steady and unwavering vocal tone is a rigid and thoroughly established one, so once an artist has identified themselves as being within that paradigm (as Creeping Fear has done by recommended their new album for fans of the two quintessential Blast Death bands, Hate Eternal and Angelcorpse), they’re pigeonholed into a very specific formula that they can’t do much else with, lest they label their sound improperly.

Creeping Fear knew this, though, and moreover they had already established their sound with the full-length before this one, Onward to Apocalypse, which they ensured fell right into all the Blast Death guidelines, so all that was left to do was refine what was already there. As a result, the improvements made on Hategod Triumph have to do more with the nuts and bolts behind the scenes - the clarity of the production, balancing the mix, composing the songs with more efficiency and less tangents - as opposed to any surface changes or integration of new riff techniques. To sum it up in a sentence, they ramped up the professionalism in their delivery, highlighted by artwork by the omnipresent Paolo Girardi (known for his album covers for bands such as Power Trip, Artificial Brain and Chthe’ilist among many others). It’s surprising that such a minor polishing job and little to no other changes to Creeping Fear’s music would make such a difference, but Hategod Triumph has a much easier time snapping me to attention than the first album did, despite the song ideas being essentially identical.

90% of the reason for that is because of the vocals. Clément Ducouret has an incredibly natural harsh tone that sounds like a younger and more feral Martin van Drunen, and anyone who knows that name knows his style is not easy to replicate. That raw, shotgun screech is present in Ducouret’s voice in full force and it can turn a generic riff into an earworm. As a vocalist myself, it makes me incredibly envious that this guy just sounds like this automatically when I could practice trying to get that tone for years and not come anywhere close. It was too loud on Onward to Apocalypse, bringing forth too much of the strain and phlegm in the voice, but on this new full-length it’s dialed back enough that it still gives you that prickly feeling while also trimming off the extra breathy vestiges. The kicker is that Ducouret is also the guitarist and composer, ripping mad Blast Death tremolo riffs the whole time he’s letting out his blood-curdling screech. As if I needed another reason to be jealous!

With careful modifications to their foundation, more well-rounded songwriting and creating the right environment to showcase Ducouret’s unreal vocal tone, Creeping Fear turned a good album into a great one. If you like Hate Eternal, Cannibal Corpse and Immolation, this should be up your alley - and even if you don’t normally listen to that stuff, you need to hear these vocals.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by Adam M on June 29, 2010.

Very technical metal is on display here that prides itself on speed and intensity. There are many moments that are quite compelling and the band do an admirable job keeping their material frenetic. It’s also apparent that Deivos might bring things up a couple of notches too high as well, as there could be a little more control to be found. Nimble drumming and furious guitar playing take precedence in the mix. The focus is definitely upon bringing a chaotic style into the forefront and they bring a technical level of finesse that is quite worth appreciating to the listener.

You could compare Deivos to a band like Nile, but we can detect a looser approach here. Most of the songs on the album are of similar quality, although there is certainly variation to be found in the riff structures between them. The pace the band maintains is definitely quicker than that which Nile performs at and shows off the talent of the band’s performers. In fact, the least interesting facet of the album is perhaps the vocals, which just fit into the background, but do nothing to separate themselves from the rest of the material. Otherwise, nimble textures are crafted that create a complex sound arena for the band.

One could argue the band might improve by trying to slow down their musical tempos and trying to bring slower, more compelling moments to the forefront, but the music is tight enough to overlook how there could be slightly more ingenious moments to be found. Fans of technical metal should be in for enough of a treat with the release as they will be able to digest the intense display perhaps better than the remainder of all metal listeners. Still, anyone looking for something adventurous could give "Gospel Of Maggots" a try as well.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 7
Production: 7.5
Originality: 7
Overall: 7.6

Rating:7.6 out of 10