One of the objects of the sludge aesthetic has always been to push the limits of what?s listenable and challenge the audience to keep up with a given band?s gross audio manipulations. Born of crusty hardcore and stoner metal, it is among the ugliest forms of music out there today, and purposefully so. Cleveland, Ohio trio DeathCrawl show a keen knowledge of and respect for sludge?s mission on their self-released debut, The End is Not Near Enough. Not only is it heavy as balls, but the damn thing?s a marathon.

Weighing in at a more than considerable 74 minutes, moments of The End is Not Near Enough lived up to the title. Guitarist Damon Gregg, bassist Jason Luchka and drummer Dave Johnson, all three of whom also handle raw-throated screaming vocals, offer a sound for which their band is perfectly named, pushing agonizingly slowly through the material while speeding up on occasion only to produce a face-melting contrast. And again, they do so for 74 minutes.

Some of The End is Not Near Enough?s strongest sections are when Gregg, Luchka and Johnson mellow out in an intro or interlude. The opening of ?Valley of the Kings? or the bass-led first two minutes of the instrumental ?A Moment of Fear? have a creepy ambience to them that makes the heavy that inevitably follows all the more crushing. The only issue is that, among all this musical swampery, this is easily glossed over without a second thought.

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