THE CRAWLING is a Irish death/doom metal band who formed in 2014. 'All Of This For Nothing,' is their third full length album; they have also released an EP. This album is incredibly well written. Why? Because while it is very much obviously an extreme doom metal album, it approaches the style in many ways. For a band this extreme to firmly remain committed to their style while being able to take it in different directions, is an accomplishment worthy of much praise. And on top of all that, the album is very often catchy. What? Death/doom that is catchy? Blasphemy!? No. AMAZING.

Unlike a lot of doom albums, this one isn't a three hour trek over one song broken into 87 tracks, half of which being interludes that go nowhere. This album is a tight 42 minutes and the longest song is "just" eight and a half minutes. This is very much a self contained world, and in this world...THE CRAWLING are Gods. Their name goes along well with their music too.  This album is loaded with a difficult atmosphere and themes, a journey that is difficult..as if you were on your hands and knees, fighting through the pain of a long experience.  But finishing such a difficult task would be cathartic in its own right , perhaps, even a relief in some, small twisted way.  'All Of This For Nothing,' could be described in such a manner.

The opening track 'March of the Worm,' begins with the drums playing their own march with a razor sharp military beat. It makes the atmosphere oppressively apprehensive. But as the song progresses, it begins to sound like a stoner doom anthem, albeit one thousand times heavier and more cryptic. The vocals are perfectly balanced between death growls and blackened raspy. Sorrowful melodies add a dismal atmosphere to the song while the super tight rhythm section keeps it all focused. 'Thy Nazarene' is another side of the band, one that definitely embraces its blackened influences. A song like this shouldn't have a chorus that was stuck in my head for days but by now it is obvious THE CRAWLING do what they want and it is guaranteed to work.

The next track 'Bound To The Negative' is a straight up Gothic doom song. The clean intro, the melancholic guitars...this sounds like an extreme version of that classic old school Gothic doom sound that just never gets old. The final song 'Sparrow' surprises with small moments of reflection and a (very) small amount of light being allowed through but ultimately it ends up casting shadows of despair. All in all, THE CRAWLING 'All Of This For Nothing' is an unique take on the death doom genre while still bringing out the beer elements of its style  Highly recommended.