THE CRAWLING is a Doom/Death Metal band from the United Kingdom, and they just released their second full-length. Titled “
Wolves and the Hideous White,” the album delivers crushing Doom/Death that is interesting enough to not make me fall asleep, and that’s the goal for me when it comes to this genre. While they stayed true to stereotypical Doom/Death for the most part,
THE CRAWLING still like to experiment. There are different types of riffs one wouldn’t expect, especially on “
Still No Sun” where there are a lot of interesting ideas including tapping.
THE CRAWLING likes to use atmospheric arpeggios in their music, and this can be seen especially on “
Wolves and the Hideous White.” It adds an eerie effect to the music that, although it’s nothing new, is nice to have.
The stereotypical Doom/Death is appropriated through their execution. The way
THE CRAWLING plays is much more interesting and thought out than most music I hear from modern doom/death acts. It sounds cleaner and includes more diverse riffs. “
Drowned in Shallow Water” has a lot of examples of this. This album is also remarkably short for the genre. Usually, bands write long songs and have long albums, but this is a nice 36 minutes in total with tracks around six minutes long each, give or take a few. Being a short album is nice because it makes it more listenable.
“
Wolves and the Hideous White” isn’t a bad album. It’s a refreshing addition to modern Doom/Death. While it isn’t a classic or anything grand, it still stands out among its peers because of its unexpected riffs and unique portrayals of doom/death.
Songwriting: 8
Originality: 7
Memorability: 6
Production: 9