Melancholy, death, doom, gloom, sorrow, these are words that come to mind the instant I hear about a band that is categorized as death/doom metal. No mom, metal is not all about anger and expressing it in violent manners! Northern Ireland’s own, The Crawling, have released their third full-length album, All Of This For Nothing (Grindscene Records), and it is a depressing but heavy voyage. Seven tracks averaging around six minutes in length each is a surefire way to make each track just hit harder and stay with you long after the album is over.

‘Another Vulture’ is one of my favorite tracks on the record as the guitar work really takes charge in painting a melancholic soundscape from the main string-skipping riff to the diminishing leads at the end. The death metal shines through on the rhythm side as both bass and drums keep the tempo above that of a heartbeat. ‘A Light We Cannot See’ is another standout track for me, deep into All Of This For Nothing. The death metal galloping found in a couple of sections of this song breaks up the monotony that death/doom-style metal bands can sometimes fall victim to. 

The closing track, ‘Sparrow’, leaves the listener off on a high note, if that is possible with the depressive tone of the whole album. I found the verse riffs, in particular, the juxtaposition between the very calm bass and drum passages while the guitar utilizes tremolo picking, to almost increase a level of anxiety or worry.

While the death/doom subgenre as a whole is not my usual go-to, The Crawling certainly left an impression of melancholy, death, doom, gloom, and sorrow on my psyche with each listen. All Of This For Nothing from start to end is truly a venture through loss, existential contemplation, and struggles of the human condition which are topics that many of us ponder on as well. In some ways, this album can help cope with these topics or even just a bad stretch of work days/weeks, so get this album and press play.

Buy the album here:

https://thecrawlingband.bandcamp.com/

6 / 10

TIM LEDIN