With a name like The Crawling I doubt anyone expects this band from Northern Ireland to be fast despite them ironically being signed to a label called Grindscene. This is the trio’s, (who comprise of members of Honey For Christ remember them? and Zombified) third album. It’s my first taster of them and attention was immediately captured by the clarity and organic feeling of the recording. In times of music being multi-layered to the max it does make a change to hear everything clearly in the mix and it suits the band’s doom death orientation perfectly.

‘March Of The Worm’ has a neat military sounding drum patina that suggests a shuffling gait to the gallows before it rumbles off and the gurgling and rough vocals snarl in giving things a raw and grizzly coating. There’s plenty of mournful melody with some slow and engrossing guitar play but with the second number ‘Another Vulture’ this has lightened somewhat and moves into a signature style that would not be out of place on a post-metal song. It’s not without bite from rapid strummed chugs though and the powerful drums rattle through the ribcage. I liked the duality of this piece and it struck as a standout number. There are elements here that bring to mind the early days of the so-called unholy trinity and with ‘Thy Nazarene’ and the embittered vocal bark working against the at first lilting sway of the melody, disgust is sincerely conveyed. Some clean backing vocals fill the gaps and do this one no harm either and with it being the shortest number it’s a good taster for those looking for a quick way into things.

With ‘Bound To The Negative’ we are enraptured by the clean guitar interplay which moves into some classic sounding, weeping doom lines with plenty of atmosphere about them. One second its hefty and oppressive and the next light and airy and at over 8-minutes long there’s plenty of substance about it. I can imagine it has the power to transfix live and note preparations are being made for a UK tour later in the year.

With seven tracks comprising a compact ¾ of an hour running time this is a fairly easy album to get into and does not overplay its hand. However, repeated listens will unveil new strengths and it is a grower as you become more accustomed to its nuances. Among these in the latter stages are some compulsive and shimmering kaleidoscopic sounding riffs on ‘Leaving The Skin’ which even have a bit of thorny blackened metal about them and a sudden melodic passage reminiscent of Metallica Puppetry on ‘A Light We Cannot See.’

A good and mature listen here which makes me want to go and check out what the band have done in the past. Also it’s not quite the miserable experience that I at first anticipated and I even caught myself smiling a few times, who’d have thunk it.

(7.5/10 Pete Woods)

https://www.facebook.com/thecrawlingband

https://thecrawlingband.bandcamp.com/album/all-of-this-for-nothing