Misanthropic-Art‘s cover image for a new split by the Swedish death metal bands Feral and Crawl is decrepit, decaying, and haunting, but also molten, an image of ancient regal grandeur now cracked, strangled by roots sprung from the earth, and littered with skulls of the dead, but something not of the earth pours forth from the eye of an obelisk.

It’s a fitting image for a split by two bands who honor the now seemingly ancient and unhealthy powers of Swedish death metal but in ways that still make it sound molten. Both bands released hellishly good albums five years ago (Feral‘s Flesh for Funerals Eternal and Crawl‘s Rituals), and the split marks a very welcome return, with each band contributing two new songs.

The split is entitled Made As Those Who Are No Longer Alive, Transcending Obscurity Records will release it on September 5th, and what we’re bringing you today is the debut of the second of Crawl‘s two songs — “Vanity“. Continue reading »

You may not know it, but right now you’re in the path of a wrecking machine. It’s growling and rumbling, eagerly waiting for you to push the arrow in the player below so that it can run you over and drag you behind it like so much roadkill.

With that introduction, you’ve probably figured out that despite their name, Crawl aren’t some turgid, sludgy doom band bent on relentlessly lowering your body temperature and suppressing your pulse rate in a semblance of death. No, their music is an amalgam of Swedish-style death metal, crust/punk, and hardcore thats capable of striking with explosive power, as you’ll discover in the song we’re bringing you today, which proclaims “Reject the Cross“. Continue reading »