PRESS/MEDIA

CRAWL
EARTH
Pavement/Olympic
 

"The hang-up with most new bands is their lack of originality, as they most often cull most of their material straight out of a previously existing band's songbook. Problem is, the knock-ff can't old a candle to the originator. The Wisconsin quartet Crawl also have their own identity crisis to contend with, but since they've managed to incorporate some of the best elements of various bands, perhaps their outstanding loans should be forgiven. With a self-financed EP behind them, (WOMB, recorded when they were known as Bleed) this band has carefully scavenged from the likes of Obituary, Fear Factory, and Sepultura to create an aggressive mechanized beast whose single-minded purpose follows those of classic monster films: Trudge. Growl Destroy.
 

With a crushing guitar sound mixed alongside vocals that blend four parts John Tardy, with a dollop of Max Cavalera, Crawl already has the basis of something weighty on their hands. Throw in some ample KALIFORNIA samples and you know you're dealing with some disturbed individuals here. Yet it's their drum, machine programming that gives them a truly industrial edge (as opposed to following standard double-bass drum patterns) doubling up the intensity of their substantial riffs.
 

Not everything has to be original - witness Tarantino's Reservoir DOgs, which was essentially a clever pastiche of what filmmakers such as Woo and Lam had done before him. Yet thrown all together it worked brilliantly, and the same goes for Earth. Whether it can be pulled off for another record remains to be seen, but at least for nin songs, these students have upstaged their teachers."
 

- Ula Gehret