In 2018, I reviewed what was the second release by Northern Ireland band The Crawling and I remember being impressed and excited for what came next. Now I can answer what is next and that is this release All Of This For Nothing.
Having taken the time and explored how to express the darkest of emotions, this 7 track offering really grabs you.
The 43 minutes that the release covers will expose you and leave feeling vulnerable at times as the band use their brand of Death Doom to tap into those suppressed emotions.
Opening up with ‘March Of The Worm’ there is a strong Sabbath vibe with the guitars, however, the drums are the marching aspect of the track. With a military style that drives that progression of the worm into the depths of the deep low end provided by the guitar before a Blackened Death vocal completes the line-up. The slow chug provides a slow descent into the darkness that you will get to explore a whole lot of whilst listening to this offering and this 6-minute opener certainly shows you the direction that this album goes.
As the album progresses to ‘Another Vulture’ there is a slightly different tone but the pace and feeling is the same, testing your resolve in the darkness and cold. There is some testing as the track is another lengthy one, but that is in no means a bad thing, as it allows you to begin to get used to the despair in the place the track takes and take stock of a few things.
‘Thy Nazarene’ has a more Black Metal feel to it and again it is as brilliant as it makes you feel despondent and really shows the diversity in what can be dark and lonely place and is something that should be applauded.
You could be forgiven for trying to figure out how a band that has been in existence since 2014, pack this amount of layers into this release, as it is something that very impressive – just as you feel you have reached a level of comfort with the places the band take you, they throw in a slight change and then you become uncertain again.
This is Death Doom from the upper echelons and is something that should be celebrated – fans of the genre need to hear this whilst others new to the genre need to hear what they have been missing out on.
All Of This For Nothing will be released Friday 4th August 2023 via Grindscene Records.
Ed Ford
Tracklist
1 – March Of The Worm
2 – Another Vulture
3 – Thy Nazarene
4 – Bound To The Negative
5 – Leaving The Skin
6 – A Light We Cannot See
7 – Sparrow
Line-up:
Stuart Rainey – Bass/Vocals
Gary Beattie – Drums
Andy Clarke – Guitar/Vocals
Further Information:
www.facebook.com/thecrawlingband
www.facebook.com/grindscene/