Crawl is back in the spotlight with its second album.
Called Altar of Disgust, it is released by Transcending Obscurity Records and confirms the return of Joachim Lyngfelt (vocals, Övervåld), Ämir Batar (drums, Tormention, Sanity Assassin), Martin Sjögren (guitar, Discarnate) and Ragnar Hedtjärn Ullenius (bass, Defueld) after a short split with Feral last year.
The album kicks off with Undead Crypts, where we immediately find that dirty saturated sound typical of the Swedish scene, followed by wild vociferations. Catchy patterns slow down to create dissonant passages before returning to fury with Throne Of Molten Bones, which still allows itself some controlled feedback to feed its striking force with a raw touch, but also motivating choruses. The band’s aggression continues with the short Knives and its jerky riffs complemented by fat bass, then with Curse Of The Morbidand Chris Monroy (Skeletal Remains), which also builds a dark ambience while striking with an effective rhythm made up of lively accelerations. Dissonance continues on Ethereal Depths, where the band adopts an initially slower but just as suffocating approach that erupts for its final moments before giving way to Where No Light Escapes and its eerie sampled voice that accompanies us throughout this strange track with its strident final, which leads into Enslaved In Filth where Death Metal takes over again with belligerent riffs. Grind influences carry it through in an instant, but it’s followed by Vision Of Burning Apparitions, which slows the tempo slightly before finally releasing the reins again, leaving us to imagine all kinds of crowd movements, which can also appear on Until They Crawl, given its catchy, stage-crafted rhythm. Into Sordid Rifts follows with a fresh dose of HM-2 with no finesse, over stirring patterns leading to a martial finale accompanied by Tiago Dias (Bastard Grave), then the record comes to an end with Buried Lust, where raucous screams with Johan Jansson (Interment, ex-Centinex, ex-Demonical) populate an eerie rhythmic pattern of small energetic eruptions that energize the sinister atmosphere.
There’s nothing revolutionary about Crawl, but we get our favorite Swedish saturation on Altar of Disgust. Thirty minutes of chainsaw, whether at full speed or during slower, oppressive passages, is not to be refused!
80/100