Album Review: The Crawling - Live in Belfast MMXXIV
Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez
There seems to be a trend in the world of metal with more bands releasing live albums than ever before. Capturing special moments that can showcase their skills to promoters whilst showing to potential ticket buyers that their work in the studio can be replicated in the live arena! The Crawling are next in line to showcase their live sound recorded in long play form. ‘Slow, bleak, and brutally honest’ is how the Northern Irish act describe their live sound. A live sound that’s earned them festival slots at Incineration, Bloodstock, Inferno, Metal Days festivals, and many more. Let’s see what was recorded on a special hometown show in “Live in Belfast MMXXI”.
The first 90 seconds is devoted to an introductory track designed to create an ominous and bleak atmosphere whilst the band take to the stage. Well, it would have been …IF EVERYBODY WOULD SHUT THE FUCK UP! Honestly, all suspense and atmosphere is killed by the irritating sound of chit-chat, like a swarm of unwelcome wasps. I honestly wouldn’t have bothered including this on the final recording for this reason, but it stays true to the bands aim to be brutally honest.
“We are The Crawling! Bang your fucking heads!”
About as simple an instruction as it gets from the band during the early stages of ‘March Of The Worm’. With the sludgy and pummelling rhythms slowly penetrating your eardrums, it’s almost impossible not to headbang! It’s hard to believe the band are only a 3 piece, such is the density and sheer gravity of the guitar and bass locking in together. The sharp yet distorted tone of each has been captured elegantly throughout the album. The drums provide the sharp and sickening heartbeat, whether it’s each blistering crack of the snare or thunderous onslaught of the double kick drums.
Much like John Tardy would in Obituary, the vocals are delivered with such venom and force, yet retaining impressive diction and clarity. Without resorting to the cookie monster style ‘heavy’ vocal that’s too common in extreme metal where lyrics all but disappear. Sometimes in isolation, sometimes in tandem, Andy and Stuart join forces, as in the case of ‘Thy Nazerene’. The result is two vocalists complimenting one another and showing excellent harmony in an underrated vocal duet. This harmony and chemistry is perhaps better demonstrated in ‘The Right To Crawl’. This song also demonstrates the ‘oppressive atmosphere’ in their music the band proudly describe. One of the faster songs with huge cathartic bursts in the earlier stages, much in the style of At The Gates, such is the warm and inviting resonance of the guitar. Though any sense of melody and warmness is completely frozen over with the marauding and bleak serotonin-sapping barrage of ‘Another Vulture’ and ‘An Immaculate Deception’. A reality check that there are no bells and whistles, and that there may be no happy ending here.
The album concludes with the final 3 songs, each offering an array neck snapping riffs and cathartic atmosphere in spades. The Crawling seemed very confident in their own abilities, making some statements that they would need to back up with their actions. Though they’ve made an excellent account of themselves here. The Crawling demonstrate that they’re a band to be taken very seriously with this respectable effort.
