Anatomy of Loss

The Crawling are a band just embarking on their career with only a single and EP out before this, their initial album. They play a mid paced death/doom, which is fairly simple in its approach. The instruments are all played well, the single guitar has a standard death metal type distortion but rings out better when those melody notes are played rather than the sometimes drab chugging riffs. Andy Clarke has a decent growl, not so deep or guttural that you cannot understand the lyrics. You can quite easily listen along without having to refer to the booklet. The lead vocal is supported at times by the bassist Stuart, to force their misery laden content forward. The bass isn’t offering too much more that it’s required lines but is mixed well. The drumming switches effortlessly between snails pace doom and the mid paced double bass.

There are some great ideas coming forth in these songs. The tracks are all under 10 minutes but this is a good thing, as I would not want these riffs to outstay their welcome. There is no experimentation or ambience attempted, just straight forward metal. Poison Orange has the first stand out moment with it’s melancholic beginnings and the slow crack of the drums, before it speeds up with a mid pace double bass forcing the track along. A lull is encountered in the writing after this with that familiar chugging guitar taking over, a couple of simple power chords. When the songs do become stripped back it’s unfortunately boring and distracts from the flourishes that are otherwise present on the album.

The Right To Crawl, a track also featured on the EP, displays the mix of slow doom and death metal perfectly with the excellent head-banging chorus. We are then treated to some much missed guitar melody on the next track and a section of tremolo picking about 5 minutes in that for me is just dying for a little solo over it! Rain and thunder herald the end of the album with a riff that I could swear I’ve heard before and a familiar structure with the slow making way for the double kicker and chug. The tracks have real potential but need fleshing out with more of the magic that is buried among the ordinary.

I like this album but it also frustrated me. It sounds excellent through the speakers, is well played and has some sparkling moments. Some sections wearied me though and could do with a little more thought. Here’s hoping they are currently penning their next full length, as it’s a band I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on.