AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: THE CRAWLING — “A SONG TO NURSE THE SICKNESS”

 Premieres  No Responses »
Sep 212026
 

(written by Islander)

Within the dark domains of death/doom Northern Ireland’s The Crawling hold a special place for this writer and others at our nefarious site. Their music is not comfortable, because they have devoted themselves to renderings of “lonely desolation, bleak truths and never healing wounds of loss and regret” (not our words, but they speak accurately), yet their records have been so powerful on both a raw sonic level and emotionally that they stand out, and we go back to them.

We’re three years on from The Crawling’s last album of new music, All of This for Nothing, and soon we will have something more from them, a new two-song EP named What We Leave Behind (they also released a fantastic live album this past January, which you can find here).

What we have for you today is an exceptionally well-made video for the first of these two tracks, “A Song To Nurse The Sickness“, and while we will of course share our own thoughts about it, we’ll turn back to the previously quoted press materials for their own evocative introduction: Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: WHOREDOM RIFE, DISCIPLES OF THE VOID, THE CRAWLING, NEKROMANT

 Exceptions to the Rule, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  2 Responses »
Oct 162018
 

 

Happy Tuesday to one and all. This makes the third day in a row when I’ve found time to round up new songs, and the third day in a row when I’ve focused on underground bands as opposed to bigger names. It’s not that I have any kind of reflexive distaste for the music of economically successful bands whose names are a known quantity world-wide (which, like the music of bands who toil in relative obscurity, is simply a familiar mix of excellence and mediocrity). It’s more that they really don’t need one more metal blog giving them a boost. And sometimes (but not always), that feeling steers me toward bands such as those discussed below.

WHOREDOM RIFE

This Norwegian duo from Trondheim (multi-instrumentalist V. Einride and vocalist K.R.) have made a big and favorable impression on discerning consumers of metal extremity in a relatively short time, through their self-titled debut EP in 2016 and their first album last year, the fantastic Dommedagskvad, both of which were released by Terratur Possessions. Now they return with a new album, NID – Hymner Av Hat. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: THE CRAWLING (ANDY CLARKE)

 Interviews  No Responses »
Mar 162018
 

 

(Comrade Aleks brings us this interview with Andy Clarke of The Crawling from Northern Ireland.)

 

Lisburn-based death/doom outfit The Crawling have been philosophizing on the themes of depression and misery since 2014, yet their debut full-length record Anatomy Of Loss, released by Grindscene Records in 2017, sounds like a full-scale anger-management course. Seven songs with an ideal total running time of 45 minutes will draw you in to an aggressive and bitter mid-paced death/doom nightmare. The Crawling are pretty melodic, but these melodies are razor-sharp and effective as a knife; besides that, the lyrics are quiet realistic. There’s not anything unnecessary on this album.

Do The Crawling have something new? I’ve asked Andy Clarke (guitars, vocals) about it, and thanks to him for the time he spent answering this. Continue reading »

THE BEST OF BRITISH, 2017 (PART 2): COLTSBLOOD / COLD FELL / THE CRAWLING

 Album Reviews  2 Responses »
Apr 122017
 


Coltsblood

 

(Andy Synn focuses once again on a trio of recent or forthcoming releases by UK bands, this time selecting material from Coltsblood, Cold Fell, and The Crawling.)

As I’m off on “tour” for four days tomorrow, meaning I’ll probably be a little bit off-the-radar (or off the reservation) where NCS is concerned, I thought I might as well leave you with something relatively substantial to tide you over while I’m gone.

And what better than another edition of “The Best of British”, highlighting three more artists hailing from these green and pleasant lands? Continue reading »

BENEATH THE NCS RADAR (PART 5)

 Album Reviews  5 Responses »
Dec 112015
 

radar5

 

(Here’s Part 5 of our Norwegian friend Gorger’s entertaining multi-part feature on bands we seem to have overlooked at NCS. Part 1 is here; Part 2 is here; Part 3 is here; Part 4 is here.  And be sure to check out Gorger’s Metal.)

Intro shmintro. Now, with those formalities out of the way, lets get to it.

KHORS – THE FLAME OF ETERNITY’S DECLINE (Re-Release)

Ukrainian Khors celebrate the ten-year anniversary of their début, and mark this occasion by releasing the album in remastered edition with new cover art. My two previous meetings with the band, their fourth and fifth albums Return to Abandoned (2010) and Wisdom of Centuries (2012), left me with a decent impression, but not much more. I haven’t forgotten the albums though. At least that’s a good sign.

Something seems to have been lost along the way, for my impressions of The Flame Of Eternity’s Decline are a good deal better. The music here eagerly grabs me and drags me along from the very beginning. Continue reading »