The Crawling formed late 2014 in Northern Ireland and “churn out a heavy, slow, death ensemble; forged against a backdrop of misery and contempt for the world that surrounds us.” The three members describe themselves as ‘ageing’ – no comment there – and this EP shows a “darker, more mature side to the band”. I’ll be honest, I thought this was a wee bit Spinal Tap at first glance, but will bear with it. The CD is a fiver and the digital download is only three quid – if you’re a fan of death or black metal in general then I recommend you stop reading this, hit the link and get it straight away, as this is a bargain. I loved it. This is comfortably beyond melancholic. It is a cracking cocktail of the desolate, cold and hateful. It’s also extremely intelligently put together, with suspenseful introductions, rhythmic and dynamic variance, extremely accomplished playing and a great use of texture. ‘The Right To Crawl’ opens with a slow, folky guitar riff that recapitulates throughout the tra...