| CD REVIEW Earth Crisis |
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Band : Earth Crisis Noo…this ain’t the new album by the reformed Earth Crisis yet! But rather a re-issue (with bonus tracks) af their epic 1998 album, originally released through Roadrunner Records! Formed during 1989 at Syracuse in New York state (situated some 300 kms from Manhattan Island in NW direction, and a mere 50 kms from Lake Ontario), this Hardcore Punk/ Metalcore band made a name for themselves as strong supporters of animal rights (also standing behind such extreme organisations as Animal Liberation Front), and promoting a Straight-Edge, vegan lifestyle! Following the first two 7-inch EPs All Out War (released 1992 through Conviction Records) and Firestorm (1993, their first outing on the Victory label), which made the popular in certain circles, came the full-lengths Destroy The Machines (1995) and Gomorrah’s Season Ends (1996), which showed a more developed and complex form of Metalcore. After a live album split with Snapcase and Strife titled The California Takeover in 1996, came the band’s own 1998 live full-length The Oath That Breaks Me Free. Meanwhile, the band had undergone a change of line-up towards the one that would hold the longest when mainstays Karl Buechner (vocals), guitarist Scott Crouse, bassist Ian “Bulldog” Edwards, and drummer Dennis Merrick were joined by their newest recruit and second guitarist Eric Edwards in 1997. During down time from touring, the same guys formed a side-project called Path Of Resistance (also included in that project’s line-up would be D.J. Rose and Jonathan Dennison). They had also signed to Roadrunner, who would have the band record the Breed The Killers album with production by Andy Sneap. Guest performances on the album came courtesy of Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn, whom added vocals to the song “One Against All”. Sneap himself even guested on some guitar licks of “Ultramilitance”. The band returned to the Victory label, where the surprisingly clean Slither was released during 2000. As an epitaph before calling it quits at their hometown’s 2001 Hellfest, the band recorded a collection of cover songs as a tribute to those bands (Slayer, Led Zeppelin, DYS, Black Sabbath, Dead Kennedys, The Rolling Stones, The Misfits) which had influenced them (something which was found amusing, because bands like Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones represent much of the things Earth Crisis are absolutely against) for the 2001 album Last Of Thee Sane. After the break-up, bassist Ian Edwards formed the heavy-weight Rag Men, in which he joined forces with singer Jorge Rosado (of Merauder and God Is I repute), guitarist Mitts (of Skarhead & Crown Of Thornz), and drummer Rigg Ross (Skarhead & ex- Hatebreed), the unit releasing a self-titled debut album on European label Gangstyle Records in October 2002 (the album was issued in the US on Eulogy during 2004). Buechner, Eric Edwards and (again) Ian Edwards came back with the band Nemesis, which remamed itself to Freya for the 2003 release of their As The Light Drains album. Freya then recruited former Earth Crisis drummer Dennis Merrick in time for the recordings of their 2007 sophomore album Lift The Curse. Meanwhile, Buechner had not only joined Canada’s A Perfect Murder for touring purposes in late September, but had already done guest vocals on Agnostic Front’s Another Voice album of 2004, and he also guested on the 2007 damnation A.D. album In This Life Or The Next. At the same time the whole Breed the Killers line-up continued their little ventures under the Path Of Resistance monicker. The band reformed officially in early January 2007, playing the Maryland Metal And Hardcore Festival later that same month, and during May a 10-day European tour was announced. In February of this year reports came in, citing Buechner to have said that new material was being written, the band expecting the album to be released in early 2009. Shortly after the Summer, the band signed a deal with Century Media, the band entering the Castle Recording Studios in Utica (New York) in mid October to self-produce a new album, to be mixed & mastered by the famed Tue Madsen. The latest news was that recordings were terminated on November 3rd…so from now on, it’s simply a question of being patient enough before we get some new EC material! Back to the re-issue of Breed The Killers, which comes with the inclusion of two live bonus tracks, including the previously unreleased “Standing Corpses”…if you’re a Technical Hardcore/ metalcore fan, but have never heard any material from the band before, I urge you to check out whatever material can be listened to at myspace.com/earthcrisis (5 full-length tracks, including this very album’s opener “End Begins”, and two videos) or last.fm/music/Earth+Crisis (regretfully only two short samples, but a welcome bunch of no less than 20 videos to be viewed). As this IS a re-issue, a landmark album for the band, ànd an album which I already hàd in my collection since day one, it would be utterly un-fair of me to rate it…but of course you’ll find it firmly posted in that “Best Albums Of 2008” list of mine (sub-category “Re-Issues”, just to be faiir, okay?) Tony. |