Rwake If You Walk Before You Crawl You Crawl Before You Die
At A Loss Recordings AAL 015CD 2004
By Nathan Pearce
ONCE AGAIN!!! At A Loss Records is totally blowing me away this year. They are very much the surprise label that Willowtip was in 2003. This round from At A Loss features the band Rwake. These guys are WILD!!! Imagine Neurosis, Eyehategod, Rune, Goatsblood, Mastodon, and probably several more of your favorite sludge/doom, sick-as-hell-bands combined and totally cremated.
If You Walk Before You Crawl You Crawl Before You Die is both a ferocious attack on the listener and an epic display of the bottom of the abyss. Songs combine the total loss experienced after your best friend ODs on heroine and the pissed-off-to-no-end hatred felt after your girlfriend has just been raped and beaten. Startling things to think about, but Rwake does not tread lightly no matter what style of metal they mangle their instruments around. Black metal? Its here. Sludge? Certainly the overpowering force behind this band, but its only part of the story. Southern-tinged, Mastodon-esque solos? Check! Theres simply no end to this bands ability to create music with no boundaries. Oh . . . did I mention the vocals are pure sickness. Dont look for a pleasant nights sleep after taking in this album.
While Rwake combines styles from several genres of metal, the band has actually been around since 1996, and its probably more likely they are innovators rather than imitators. However, the songwriting on display on If You Walk Before You Crawl . . . doesnt hint at anything other than great, great, sick-as-fuck metal. Rwake is a band with an amazing ability to combine all the darkest forms of metal while still maintaining their own identity.
9/10
Rwakes Official Website
At A Loss Records Official Website
At A Loss Recordings AAL 015CD 2004
By Nathan Pearce
ONCE AGAIN!!! At A Loss Records is totally blowing me away this year. They are very much the surprise label that Willowtip was in 2003. This round from At A Loss features the band Rwake. These guys are WILD!!! Imagine Neurosis, Eyehategod, Rune, Goatsblood, Mastodon, and probably several more of your favorite sludge/doom, sick-as-hell-bands combined and totally cremated.
If You Walk Before You Crawl You Crawl Before You Die is both a ferocious attack on the listener and an epic display of the bottom of the abyss. Songs combine the total loss experienced after your best friend ODs on heroine and the pissed-off-to-no-end hatred felt after your girlfriend has just been raped and beaten. Startling things to think about, but Rwake does not tread lightly no matter what style of metal they mangle their instruments around. Black metal? Its here. Sludge? Certainly the overpowering force behind this band, but its only part of the story. Southern-tinged, Mastodon-esque solos? Check! Theres simply no end to this bands ability to create music with no boundaries. Oh . . . did I mention the vocals are pure sickness. Dont look for a pleasant nights sleep after taking in this album.
While Rwake combines styles from several genres of metal, the band has actually been around since 1996, and its probably more likely they are innovators rather than imitators. However, the songwriting on display on If You Walk Before You Crawl . . . doesnt hint at anything other than great, great, sick-as-fuck metal. Rwake is a band with an amazing ability to combine all the darkest forms of metal while still maintaining their own identity.
9/10
Rwakes Official Website
At A Loss Records Official Website
