These days genre blending has become more of the norm as a difference maker for artists to stand apart from one another. Displaying a fusion of atmospheric doom next to conventional death metal, The Crawling from Northern Ireland have been establishing their niche since 2014, currently up to this third full-length for the despair-laden title All of This For Nothing. The follow-up to 2018’s Wolves and the Hideous White (their first foray on GrindScene Records), the three-piece delivers a bone-chilling sound on all sides of the spectrum through these seven tracks – crushing riffs, growls/screams of agony, as well as the adequate serene/melodic touches that swirl in delightful influences of the 90’s/early 2000’s.
It’s the little pieces that often build into a major pleaser when it comes to the songwriting for this effort. Check out the opening drum march that gives way to some darker death/blackened tremolo runs to signal the start of the stalker-ish “March of the Worm”, or the melodic, cultural instrumental twists next to the mid-tempo driving groove death rhythms on “Another Vulture” – two early examples of the long/wide approach these musicians encompass to service the needs of any given song. The contrasts throughout keep your ears glued for what comes next – haunting vocals match gritty growls while the upfront bass play makes “Thy Nazarene” an instant appealer, aspects of classic Sentenced sitting next to early Paradise Lost, the pulsating double kick/snare action giving the arrangement more sonic punch at the conclusion. Guitarist Andy Clarke handles the main singing duties, mixing up the natural death growls with a gothic/clean aspect when necessary – and when the three-piece comes together to obliterate your senses, you get this sweeping sense of doom chaos that puts “Leaving the Skin” in that spine-tingling, teeth-rattling mode.
At 42 minutes, All of This For Nothing achieves the desired effect to push The Crawling into those early Peaceville Records / Century Media days when metal was moving through moodier, expansive terrain.