No, this is not a NIRVANA-tribute band. NEGATIVE CREEPS are a thrash metal band from Greece. The CD cover says "Genre: Thrashing metalcore" while the band themselves call their music "satancore". Don't think they invented a new genre though, because this is pretty standard stuff. On the positive side it should be noted that the playing is pretty flawless. I don't know how much studio trickery was involved to produce such a tight sound. But to be perfectly honest, I don't care. NEGATIVE CREEPS' metal is so one-dimensional they make MACHINE HEAD sound like a virtual prog band. All the songs and riffs are played in the same key and the songs themselves mostly just stay in that same key. So what you end up with is a load of one-note riffs accompanied by rhythmic barking and drums that go from half-time to double-time and back again. That's it. It's all not that awfully bad, just terribly redundant and completely lacking any identity or imagination.

I wonder if these guys have ever heard any other thrash metal albums besides SEPULTURA's "Arise", since most of the album just sounds like a watered-down version of that. People who think SEPULTURA, PANTERA and MACHINE HEAD sound too difficult even at their most uninspired might give this a try. For me this is just background thrash metal muzak that only makes me reach for those shitloads of far superior records already in the collection.

- Van Hoften

OFFICIAL SITE: www.negativecreeps.com

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