Band:	Warcrab
Album:	The Howling Silence
Style:	Death doom metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	November 2023

01. Orbital Graveyard
02. Titan Of War
03. Black Serpent Coils
04. Sword Of Mars
05. As The Mourners Turn Away
06. Sourlands Under A Rancid Sun
07. Howling Silence

Attention, Bolt Thrower fans! Warcrab is here to present a death/doom/sludge style that's meant to pummel any and all head-bangers to mush!

Sludge metal, the ever-versatile genre mixer, has displayed many diverse facets throughout its history, from cacophonous Neurosis to unnerving Acid Bath and catchy Mastodon. The five-piece band Warcrab from the UK utilize some of these styles in an enjoyable extreme metal concoction, while heavily taking inspiration from death and doom metal as well.

For the majority of their newest album, The Howling Silence, Warcrab's aggressive, mid-tempo style resembles Bolt Thrower's early In Battle There Is No Law and Realm Of Chaos days. Between the catchy—positively bouncy—main motif of "Titan Of War" and the wild, fast-paced rage of "Sourlands Under A Rancid Sun", the album provides its fair share of chest-pumping groove. Throw in some spicy guitar solos and devilish, blackened rasps, and you've got yourself an engaging formula to entice any extreme metal fan. As the icing on the cake, most songs, like the opening track "Orbital Graveyard", end in a headbang-inducing climax as the thunderous percussion really takes center-stage.

Yet Warcrab also know when to take their foot off the death metal pedal. That's when their unnerving, atmospheric doom influences come in. For instance, "Black Serpent Coils" begins with an ominous bass guitar intro, before leading over into a lead guitar melody that surprisingly sounds inspired by psychedelic stoner metal. "As The Mourners Turn Away" takes a different doom approach, starting with a melancholic acoustic guitar intro, before committing to an entire eight minutes of slow, contemplative, melodic death doom. About six minutes into the title track, one even gets to hear a calm ambience oddly reminiscent of that tranquil section in Iron Maiden's "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner".

In conclusion, on The Howling Silence, Warcrab strike a perfect balance of crushingly heavy pummeling, groovy guitar-work, and somber yet menacing atmosphere—all fittingly showcased by a morbid, unsettling, black-and-white cover art. This is the fourth album from a band signed to Transcending Obscurity Records that I've reviewed this year. Specialized in extreme metal, the releases of this label range from average death doom like Thorn to the thrashy black metal of Sarcoptes and the enjoyable, oppressive sludge of 71TONMAN. With its sinister energy, addictive songwriting, passionate performance, and crushingly crisp production, Warcrab's The Howling Silence is definitely the best of the recent Transcending Obscurity Records releases and will no doubt end up among my favorite albums of 2023.