The Crawling Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

The Crawling is made up of three guys who have a combined love of slow, miserable, death metal type music. All of us have been in various bands throughout the years, and, with the exception of Gary, there was a bit of a lull output wise; so Stuart decided to start a death metal band. He asked me to join on guitar, we refined our sound a bit and, finally Gary joined on drums - the trio was complete!

2.How would you describe your musical sound?

Everyone has their own take on these sort of questions. Personally, i hear a slow death/doom metal band, and i think the other two guys would pretty much agree. That said, there have been a few reviewers who have mentioned a 'black metal' sound to our latter material. So, i suppose The Crawling are a slow death, doom, black metal ensemble!


3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the music?

To date i have written all the lyrics, and i tend to focus on what i see around me, or things i have read; the common denominator is reality, oh, and misery. I’ve always been preoccupied on the more negative side of life. It’s not that i’m a miserable person per se, i’ve just always been intrigued as to how people react to bad things; some people cope well when bad things happen, some fight back, some fall further into despair, some call it quits altogether, or lose the ability to function, and others just bow out.

I’m usually lyrically inspired by my those around me, my own experiences (most often in hindsight), or those internet articles that float about the social networks - a lot if misery on the internet these days.


4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'The Crawling'?

The inspiration came from my brother. He’s an excellent lyricist and it derived from one of his song titles. The words didn’t really fit with his music, so he told me to use it as it made more sense. The name fits with our music, as it’s more of a crawling pace, and lyrically it worked better. Ultimately it just felt right.


5.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We were lucky enough to tour with Desecration at the start of 2015 across a few dates in Ireland; that weekend was undoubtedlty the best shows we’ve done. We hadn't done a lot of shows at that point, but we worked hard to solidify our live performance and it showed on that tour. More than anything it was excellent fun to hang out with Desecration, Foetal Juice (hi guys!) and Zombified. It was also an education to see how Desecration operated when touring - those guys have it nailed; we learned a lot from that short adventure.

I would describe our live performance as dark and intense. With only three of us on stage, i find it provides a great look, more so in the smaller clubs where we tend to play - those wee stages can look really overcrowded when you get four bodies up front. We bring our own spot lights, smoke, sampling, and strobe effects to every show, as we have a very definite idea of the mood and image we want to create live. There’s no chat or banter between songs. I don’t like to talk much - I want people to hear the music and get into it; that’s not something i want to interrupt with my inane waffling. Music should be an experience, and we try to create one. It can be difficult on a low budget, but we try.



6. Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

The only show we have booked at the moment is ‘Siege of Limerick’ - it’s a big deal in Ireland to be asked to play so we’re totally thrilled to be on board that one. The bigger picture is to focus on weekend type tours as you tend to get better crowds and easier logistics. But, as i said nothing has been arranged yet - promoters get in touch! :)

7.Currently the band is signed to Grindscene Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

Grindscene is run out of Northern Ireland by my younger brother, Peter. He’s a total death metal nut - hence starting a label. Grindscene have done some really cool things over the years and signed some really prestigious acts - Man Must Die, Foetal Juice, Cerebral Bore, Foul Body Autopsy and has recently been working with Desecration. Pete strives to only sign bands he personally enjoys, and i think that’s led to an excellent reputation and high quality acts - us included of course!


8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of doom and death metal?

The reviews for the EP are only starting to come in, but so far the response has been really positive; but i don’t think the zines have been strictly doom or death focused. The feedback at shows has been very good too, both from death metal genre fans, and those into slower stuff. I think we have the right amount of each to keep both parties interested.

9.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

Stuart is solely focused on The Crawling. For me, despite my other band “Honey For Christ” having never officially quit, we haven’t done anything in years, and my time is all about The Crawling at present. Gary has a very full time position in Zombified - a pure death metal band, which is more speed based than The Crawling. Zombified have had a very successful career to date, and are in the process of completing their debut album.


10.The band members have been into death metal for a long time, what is it that motivates you to keep playing this style in your 40's?

I think it’s just a love of the music where I started. I’ve kinda come full circle. I mean i started playing in a death metal band in the early 90’s and then progressed towards the clean singing fronted HFC for over 10 years, i’ve now found my way back to the slow death stuff. I’ve always enjoyed death metal, but never really played/recorded anything; now, i find it a lot easier to write and certainly find myself enjoying the whole experience.

Ultimately it comes down to having a creative outlet, having something to say, and finding like minded people to do it with. I kept wondering if i was ‘too old for this shit,' but then i found myself plugging away on the guitar and writing lyrics - before i knew it i had half a dozen songs, and wanted to write more. That inspires me to simply keep going. If i run out of ideas, or it isn’t fun i’ll stop.


11.When can we expect a full length album and also where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

It’ll be 12+ months away at least, probably end of next year. We need to get the EP out, spread the name, and do a lot more shows.

Musically, i think we will just progress from where we are. ‘In Light of Dark Days’ is our first real release, and we have only just found our style. The album will just be an extension of this. We certainly aren’t gonna be veering too far from where we’ve just started.

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

The Crawling members all have various influences. I can’t really speak for the other guys, but for me it always comes down to My Dying Bride, Anathema and Katatonia. I’m a massive fan of the slower style of death metal; i would call it ‘doom' - but i think that term has taken on a whole new meaning these days. The Crawling don’t really sound like those bands, but they are definitely a musical influence - whether it comes across in the music i can’t say.

Nowadays i’m listening to the new My Dying Bride album, Forgotten Tomb, Desecration, Immortal and Satyricon. End of Green feature a lot in my rotation as well; they are the kings of depressive sub core!


13.What are some of your non musical interests?

I’m a keen scuba diver. I do occasional technical diving and have a fondness to venture under the sea to look at old shipwrecks. I had the pleasure of visiting Norway last year, and diving the World War wrecks in the deep Fjords - it was a magnificent experience. I also enjoy hiking; in Ireland we have a number of mountains that are reasonably accessible, with absolutely breath taking scenery.

Oh, i also spend far too much time with my dogs, love movies (hate TV) and like to drink beer.!

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I would just like to thank you for taking time to feature The Crawling, we really appreciate your support. Finally - tell everyone to do the social network thing - find us on Facebook/YouTube/Twitter and all that internet-y stuff.

Stay miserable people!

www.thecrawlingband.co.uk