ARTIST: CREATURE OF EXILE
ALBUM: SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS EP
RELEASE DATE: JULY 2013
GENRE: DEATHCORE
LABEL: INDEPENDENT
RATING: 5.5/10
Sic Semper Tyrannis. To most, that phrase reminds people of the murder of Abraham Lincoln, and the famous words cried out by John Wilkes Booth as he escaped. To a Creature of Exile fan, however, it might mean a deathcore album full of pounding drums, intense riffs, and throat tearing screams.
Sic Semper Tyrannis is Creature of Exile’s debut EP, and while it shows oceans of ability, it shows almost no originality. Each scream, guitar riff, and song sounds like it has been ripped directly from an earlier band’s deathcore album. The EP is five songs long, and each song does sound distinguishable, but the listener is left with a nagging feeling that he or she has heard the song before, a sense left by the band falling into the generic deathcore rut.
The entire EP is well produced; it is very heavy, with a well balanced sound throughout. No one instrument overpowers the other at any time. The vocals are very strong, but run into the issue, again, of imitation. Imitation appears to plague the whole EP, diminishing from the musicianship and sound quality of the EP. Creatures of Exile sounds like it could be early Chelsea Grin or Whitechapel. That is not a bad thing in itself, except that very little of the album seems to be any more than a rehash of those bands.
The drummer, however, deserves recognition. Starting from the first track, “American Lies,” the drums can be heard pounding wildly at the kit through wild solos and impressive double kick sequences and tricky fills. The other musicians also deserve recognition as well; the playing on Sic Semper Tyrannis is outstanding. Everything is tight and in sync; each member is clearly well versed in his or her respective instrument, and it leads to a very well played album.
Creature of Exile has crafted a well played but unoriginal EP on Sic Semper Tyrannis. Each musician sounds incredibly tight, and the vocalist rips into each track like a man possessed. The quality of the recordings, however, can only take Creature of Exile so far; to advance any further as a band, they will need to craft a style reflective of their own original work.
