Album Review: Crawl Below - 9 Mile Square
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
For this newest release one-man-project Crawl Below has moved away from the many-tracks-short-running-time of his previous albums and, instead, crafted a longer, more emotionally charged piece. 9 Mile Square is six tracks of doom-infused Dark Metal inspired by Charlie Sad-Eye’s New England background.
For a creator known for his genre-hopping, 9 Mile Square is surprisingly consistent in it’s delivery; whereas previous records have utilised features of punk, black metal and acoustic folk, this new collection sits comfortably with the gothic, melancholia of Woods of Ypres and Katatonia, with a smattering of Type O Negative added for good measure.
There are no massive, in-your-face riffs or shredding solos on 9 Mile Square and you won’t find any frenzied pit favourites here, either. What you will discover is half a dozen heart-breaking elegies; six songs infused with the sorrows of loss and regret, all played with a morose sense of despair.
From Feed the Towers Above the Trees to the title track, Crawl Below have delivered an album of slow dirges, built from lamenting guitar lines and drums that sound like the unstoppable march of time.
There are moments when the music takes a turn for the (relatively) meaty. Kingdom of the Ruined, after opening with a Twin Peaks-inspired introduction, reveals itself with a thicker chug that never ceases to be compelling.
Charlie’s vocals are understated for the most part across the whole of 9 Mile Square, sitting low in the mix as though he has something to say but not the confidence to be heard. The heavier side of Monument give the vocals a greater presence, but they are never allowed to become anything close to up front at any point. Rather, they remain low and yearning, giving the whole of the record a sombre and brooding atmosphere.
Crawl Below have written an emotional album that is very much indicative of the landscape which inspired it. The tracks are both intensely personal meditations and vast, widescreen vistas. This is most definitely a rural record, one ringing with a sense of pain and loss, but one that is somehow hopeful at the same time.
