By: Anders

Posted: Jun 5, 2006

The American band Cretin is now ready with their debut assault, yes assault, you read correct. This is an assault on the ears and mind of the unaware listener, a blastbeating of the serious kinds. The band is delivering a hellbent combination of grindcore and heavy death metal, all turning into a noisy crossover attack of the vicious kind.

Cretin is mixing old and new in a fluent blend, which flows pretty well and catches fairly quickly on. Even though the final output from the band is brutal as hell. The down tuned guitar delivers one ugly riff after another, the guitar tone is really raw with a noisy edge, a thing that fits perfectly into the universe of Cretin. As the musical picture they paint is raw, ugly and without mercy. The vocals are grim and harsh, the bastardized growl is spit out the mouth, into the microphone, giving a raw and good effect. The varied drumming is good as well, mostly blasting and pretty fast, but there are many good details, pace shifts and alternations.

Composition-wise there might not be that much new under the sun, but Cretin has to have props up for the way they deliver their metal. As it seems fresh as hell and I can't remember having heard crossover being done like this before, so even though it is possible to pick out a little bit here and there, as pure inspirations from other songs and bands, Cretin does a good job reinventing the crossover genre.

16 tracks of a crushing crossover of harsh grindcore and raw death metal is what this album brings you. And when it's done, you find yourself pressing "play", and soon you'll see yourself do it again and again, "Freakery" is addictive, and I am sure of that Cretin is a band we soon will hear a damn lot more to.

Rating: 8/10

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