THE CRAWLING - What We Leave Behind

Succinctly spread across two songs, this release contrasts mood and emotion and the power in their heaviness feels balanced somewhere between gothic bereavement and isolated thought. With comparison to their other releases, the band follow a similar path of song structures and intrapersonal themes that challenges acceptance with resolution.

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There is polarity between the tracks on this offering, as the first is a heavy mid-to-fast-tempo crusher while the second is a slower sombre acoustic revisitation. The intention of contrast seems to draw the listener across a sonic mindscape tempered by a need to explore purpose and meaning within the confines of recollection of loss. The sound production feels clean and definitive of each elements contribution and overall has a feel reminiscent of early My Dying Bride and / or Paradise Lost.

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A Song To Nurse The Sickness is an assembly of heavy chords and strained leads matched with a mix of harsh and clean vocals scaffolded with solid drum patterns before crescendoing into a conclusion of chunky riffage and mildly blackened fury. Bound To the Negative (Requiem) is a stunning reimagining of previous work that transcends a melancholic space that feels cold bleak and barren, misted by a wanton endless prose.

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For those who resound with the likes of Swallow The Sun, Officium Triste, and October Tide, will find assurances of heartbreak conveyed with honesty and conviction. As if carved from pillars of basalt, THE CRAWLING has created a timeless tome in What We Leave Behind, that asserts a presence in this infinite maze of ever-changing life and the remorse connected with regret.

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SCORE 8.5/10

Reviewed by glennosp