THE CRAWLING To Release 'What We Leave Behind' EP October 2nd, 2026 by Grindscene Records

Details: Written by: Edvardsen; Created: 14 August 2026; Hits: 116

The Crawling band

The past is an uncertain country, a place reformed by longing and regret, a place of ever-shifting shadows and fading light where dreams may seem to live. Reimagined and reborn with every passing day and night, bestowed with a weight of meaning and measure that it never held when it was but the unassuming present. Wander too long in its endless forests and deepening chasms and its truth will be revealed…it is no idyll, no glorious moment when emotions were deeper, truer than they could ever be again; it is an ensnaring maze, a soul-consuming prison, its realities ephemeral, dust upon the wind.

“Nostalgia is not a memory; it is a malignancy.”

Formed in the midst of winter, 2014, in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, The Crawling have carved a reputation for themselves from obsidian and basalt. The crushing weight and unflinching honesty of both their music and their words has earned them both the respect of critics and peers and the staunch loyalty of those to whom their songs of lonely desolation, bleak truths and never healing wounds of loss and regret speak most keenly and clearly. Through a triumvirate of remarkable albums, including the revered Wolves And The Hideous White and the towering edifice that is 2023s All Of This For Nothing, accompanied by a superb supporting cast of EPs, singles and live releases, they have become a band that stands proudly alone. They sit comfortably within the bounds of death/doom metal, this is undeniable, but they do so in such a fashion that they can never be mistaken for any other band. And as we reach the darker, shorter days of this troubled year they offer up another powerful addition to their untarnished canon - an EP that lays bare our troubling obsession with the places, people, events and emotions of our past, examining the way in which we strive to live in the unreliable recollections of times gone by, the loves and losses, joys and heartaches, elevating them above our present and undermining our hope of a meaningful future. This is What We Leave Behind…

What We Leave Behind first offers up 'A Song To Nurse The Sickness' - formidable in heaviness and implacable in purpose. The Crawling demonstrate their sonic integrity, unafraid to show the spaces between the notes, as the vocals are delivered with harsh clarity and the guitars bring the sombre, melancholy melody. It forces us to confront the choking caul of the past, the destructive nature of those consuming, drowning thoughts where reflection becomes immersion and remembrance becomes addiction. The clinging weight in each note, the terrifying bleakness of every word is made more powerful and poignant by the uncluttered, unembroidered presentation. This is not artifice, this is truth. Completing the EP and closing a chapter in The Crawling's story is 'Bound To The Negative (Requiem)', a remarkable acoustic rebirth for one of the band's finest songs, which appeared in its original, fiercer form on All Of This For Nothing. The song's strength is illustrated by its ability to take on this new mantle and retain its emotional heft and bleak splendour. This is a genuine act of transformation, the band reaching into the grim nobility of the original and drawing out the glimmering threads of melody and reweaving them anew, capturing an aura of medieval balladry. Its sound and perspective have been reshaped, but the conclusion remains unchanged - mirroring the way in which memory repeatedly revises the past without fundamentally altering what actually happened.

The Crawling album2026

Track Listing:
01 - A Song To Nurse The Sickness
02 - Bound To The Negative (Requiem)

With the resonance of the drums captured at The Parlour Recording Studios (The Haunted, At The Gates, Napalm Death etc) and all other aspects of the recording, mix and master kept 'in house', the sound of What We Leave Behind is unmistakeably The Crawling. Every element of the songs is there in plain sight, no dissembling sonic wizardry, just open, honest, power and passion. What We Leave Behind couldn't be any other way. Completed by the evocative artwork of Redamaut (Perpetual Paradox, Mother Crone, Altar Of Moss etc) What We Leave Behind will be released on CD, cassette and digital formats by Grindscene Records, on October 2nd. Another essential tale in the unfolding chronicles of The Crawling…

"The EP is an acknowledgement that the past is behind us.
We spend too long lamenting what has been, rather than being mindful of the present and the joy it can bring.
Then, when we finally realise time has slipped away, we begin mourning that as well.
The constant mourning of time is a sickness."
- Andy Clarke, The Crawling

Label: Grindscene Records
Release dat: October 2nd 2026

Presale link here

For Fans Of: Swallow The Sun | Officium Triste | October Tide | Paradise Lost

ONLINE

Homepage
Facebook
Instagram
X/Twitter
Bandcamp
Soundcloud
Apple music
Amazon Music
Deezer
Spotify
Tidal
Qobuz
Youtube music
Youtube

LINEUP

BIOGRAPHY/LOGO

The Crawling are a death/doom metal band from Lisburn, Northern Ireland, formed in 2014. Built around a bleak and uncompromising approach to extreme metal, the band combines the crushing weight of death metal with the oppressive atmosphere and emotional desolation of doom. Rather than relying solely on slow tempos, The Crawling use dynamics, heavy riffing and carefully constructed melodies to create music that feels both physically imposing and deeply melancholic.

The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Andy Clarke, whose previous experience within the Northern Irish metal scene helped shape The Crawling's direction from the outset. Alongside bassist Stuart Rainey and drummer Gary Beattie, Clarke developed a sound influenced by the darker sides of death and doom metal, drawing inspiration from bands such as Paradise Lost, Katatonia and Bolt Thrower while establishing an identity distinctly their own.

The Crawling made their first recorded appearance in 2015 with the single “Choking on Concrete,” followed later that year by the EP In Light of Dark Days. These early recordings introduced the band's characteristic mixture of massive guitar tones, death-metal vocals and sombre melodies. The EP also demonstrated their ability to balance aggression with a pervasive sense of despair, laying the groundwork for what would become their signature sound.

Their debut full-length album, Anatomy of Loss, arrived in 2017 through GrindScene Records. The record expanded considerably upon the foundations of the EP, presenting a darker and more mature exploration of loss, isolation and human suffering. Songs such as “Acid on My Skin,” “All Our Failings” and “The Right to Crawl” showcased a band capable of moving naturally between crushing death metal passages and mournful doom-laden sections. Anatomy of Loss helped establish The Crawling as one of the more distinctive acts emerging from the Northern Irish underground.

Only a year later, the band returned with their second album, Wolves and the Hideous White (2018). The record pushed their bleak aesthetic even further, with a dense atmosphere and a stronger emphasis on emotional weight. Tracks including “Still No Sun,” “Drowned in Shallow Water” and “Promises and Parasites” reinforced the band's fascination with the darker aspects of human existence. The album maintained the heaviness of its predecessor while developing a more expansive and atmospheric approach.

Following several years without a new full-length release, The Crawling resurfaced with the single “Sparrow” in 2021, accompanied by their interpretation of Björk's “Play Dead.” The release provided an early indication of the band's continued evolution and eventually led toward their third studio album.

All of This for Nothing was released in August 2023 and represented another significant step forward. Retaining the enormous riffs and guttural vocals at the heart of The Crawling's music, the album placed even greater emphasis on atmosphere, melody and emotional intensity. Songs such as “March of the Worm,” “Another Vulture,” “Thy Nazarene,” “Bound to the Negative” and “Sparrow” presented a band refining rather than abandoning its established identity. The result was a record that remained unmistakably rooted in death/doom while displaying a broader and increasingly confident songwriting approach.

The Crawling have also developed a formidable reputation as a live band, where the physical weight and oppressive atmosphere of their material become particularly effective. Their performances have taken them beyond Northern Ireland and into the wider European underground metal circuit. That side of the band was documented on Live in Belfast MMXXIV, released in January 2026 and recorded at Limelight 2 in Belfast in November 2024. Capturing the band in a deliberately raw setting without excessive studio treatment, the release serves as a snapshot of The Crawling's live intensity after a decade of activity.

Throughout their career, The Crawling have remained committed to a particularly grim interpretation of death/doom metal. Their music is heavy without sacrificing atmosphere, melodic without becoming comfortable, and emotionally charged without losing the aggression at its core. Themes of loss, hopelessness, isolation, mortality and the darker realities of human existence run consistently through their work.

With releases such as Anatomy of Loss, Wolves and the Hideous White and All of This for Nothing, The Crawling have carved out a recognisable place within the modern UK and Irish extreme-metal underground. Their combination of crushing death metal, mournful doom and stark emotional atmosphere has produced a sound that is simultaneously brutal, sombre and deeply human.