Review: “XILX” by Crawling Chaos

Almost a year ago, Italian Death Metallers Crawling Chaos re-entered the studio to record their second full-length, “XLIX”, a concept album inspired by Machiavelli’s notorious book “The Prince”. Once again opting to record with Simone Mularoni (Ultra-Violence, Void Of Sleep, From The Depths), who also mixed and produced the affair. That was December 2019, a decade after the band, who were founded in Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, Italy released their first home recorded EP “Goatsuckers”, which paved the way for the recording of the bands debut “Repellent Gastronomy” at Domination Studios and afforded them the opportunity to spend three years ripping up the Italian tour circuit with the likes of Suffocation, Havok and Skeletonwitch. So is the return of the King’s Manuel “MG” Guerrieri (Guitars and Vocals) Andrea “Shub” Velli (Guitars, Backing Vocals), William “Will” Leardini (Fretless Bass) and Edoardo “Yog” Velli (Drums) a triumphant one?

The classic Death Metal opus “My Golden Age” blugeons with jack hammer footwork surrounded by a sinister darkness, breaking out for frenetic blast beats, while the band find time for a soaring Progressive Death Metal meandering lead part that you might not have expected from a band of this ilk. Momentary vocal distortions with programming also demonstrate some out of the box thinking but keep the purists happy by being fleeting. “The Prince Is Here” matches that intensity with plenty of its own while having fast and loose Groove Metal moments that throw caution to the wind with an air of flamboyance while Velli absolutely decimates the kit with Black Metal kit work second to none. We’d love to know how many pairs of drum sticks got destroyed in the recording of this album. Introduced by an Italian spoken word that sounds like it has religious overtones “Block And A Bloody Knife” brings that Chimaira self titled album guitar style with bruising rhythms and more subtle interplay. The solo is a fine piece of menacing work and using it to fade out the track gives it the perfect placing to cut back for the oddly titled “49th, Or The Law Of Desperation“. Taking a leaf from the book of Type O Negative for the solemn introduction before tearing into the flesh with the sharp talons of barbed riffs and furious kit work makes for that shock factor gut punch that raises the hairs on the back of your neck. Some chanted moments will work well in call and response with fans live, while a the tasteful solo into a breakdown of sorts is the work of a prize fighter.

“Ishnigarrab, Or The Awful Offspring Of The Goat” keeps the flow of riffs going with a shorter, sharper track with gang chant moments and headbangable efficiency. A fleeting synth moment is again a point of difference that is so fleeting you might miss it on the first few spins of this powerhouse display, but adds to the texture and enhances the longevity of the record as a while. “Covered In Debris” is introduced by the sounds of the walls crumbling down before a slow build up through a soaring lead into some crunchy riffs with a Southern style sound. The black throat lead vocals from MG (the voice from the beyond the void of gargantuan depth) are well married to the shriller backing vocals from Shub (the evil cave dwelling beast style), which we’d gladly hear more of in future works but isn’t utilized more on the record as a whole. Bringing back the fleeting electronic vocal distortions of “My Golden Age” helps with the flow of the record giving it a wrap around feel before the “Doom Of Babylonia” comes forth to drag us down to the black depths. Its play on light and shade with a melodic, mournful clean sung passage is certainly eye opening while the classic Traditional Metal bridge back to the brutal is elegantly worked. An opus that sounds complete thanks to the musical flow build on the foundations of the story, this is a fine offering from a group who deserve a lot of credit [8/10]

Track listing

1. My Golden Age
2. The Prince Is Here
3. Block And A Bloody Knife
4. 49th, Or The Law Of Desperation
5. Ishnigarrab, Or The Awful Offspring Of The Goat
6. Covered In Debris
7. Doom Of Babylonia

“XILX” by Crawling Chaos is out 20th November via Time To Kill Records and is available for pre-order over at bandcamp