CRAWLING CHAOS was formed in Rimini, Italy in 2003. They are a Death Metal band influenced by a number of subgenres including Grindcore as well as melodic elements. The line-up was relatively stable throughout the years with Manuel, Andrea, and Edoardo Velli being in the band from the start. CRAWLING CHAOS released prior to this album one EP and one full-length album back in 2013. "XLIX" was released by Italian label Time To Kill Records which is specialized in Metal, Hardcore, and Industrial. The album has a length of almost 42 minutes.

"XLIX" is a concept album based on a novel of Niccolo Machiavelli in the 16^th century. The album tells the story of the rise and fall of a protagonist who is frustrated by his environment and finds a lost version of Machiavelli's novel "The Prince". That gives him the skills and power to become the absolute sovereign but he is doing so by following the methods of an infamous warlord of Italian history. Arrived at the throne, he desperately tries to bring order into chaos and to create Utopia. Eventually, it is his quest for order that lets him fall. Each of the seven songs on "XLIX" tells one part of this story.

"My Golden Age" and "The Prince Is Here" tell about the rise of the protagonist. "My Golden Age" starts with a long and dark intro before it explodes into a firework of hammering blast-beats, screams, and powerful dark guitar riffs. The tempo varies throughout the song ranging from high-speed parts to mid-tempo breaks and even a few slow and melancholic parts. The lead guitar sequences are fairly technical and the song includes a couple of comprehensive lead guitar solos that fit perfectly to the overall atmosphere of the song. "The Prince Is Here" continues with the assault of blast-beats and breakneck speed but also has mid-tempo breaks. The arrival of the prince is eventually cemented by a classical renaissance-type of outro.

The middle part of the album starts a bit slower, but with powerful and doom-laden guitar riffs in "Block And A Bloody Knife", frequently interrupted by short blast-beat and double-bass attacks. The song concludes with another contributing lead guitar solo. The prince announces the end of chaos accompanied by a melancholic atmosphere which forms the basis of "49^th, Or The Law Of Desperation". Kept mid-tempo throughout, the lead guitar sequences and solos as well as the bludgeoning growls and screams give the song an extraordinary depth and quality.

While most songs on the album are six minutes or longer, "Ishnagarrab, Or The Aweful Offspring Of The Goat" is an exception. The rhythm, song structure, and guitar riffs are catchy and real head-banging stuff. The low growls of Manuel are frightening and the lead guitar sequences fit perfectly to the rhythm section. The song was released as lyric video and the YouTube link is given below.

The final part of "XLIX" describe the fall of the prince. Especially "Doom Of Babylonia" is again a festival of blisteringly fast sequences with hammering blast-beats, brutal growls and screams on one hand and melancholic mid-tempo parts with excellent lead guitar sequences and a very powerful finale that transitions into another classical outro.

"XLIX" is a beast of an album. CRAWLING CHAOS deliver a masterpiece of brutal and technical Death Metal with fantastic melodic and melancholic elements. It is all framed into a concept and each of the seven songs contributes lyrically and in terms of the sound to that concept. CRAWLING CHAOS show that excellent modern Death Metal is, beside pummeling blast-beats and deafening screams, especially the diversity of the sound, including melodic, groove, and doom elements. The album is very well produced. "XLIX" is an album that should be part of the collection of every Death Metal fan.