┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│■ ■│
│ .-/ .-. │
│ _.-~ / ___ | ~-._ │
│ \:/ -~| / __/| .\:/ │
│ / || (:/:| \ │
│ / /\/| |:\___\| |\ \ │
│ / /:::|.::/:::/:.|:\ \ │
│ / /:::/ \\/:::/::/:::\ \ │
│ / .::\ \-~~~~-/\/:.. \ │
│ /..:::::\ /:::::..\ │
│ /::::::::- -::::::::\ │
│ \:::::-~ ~-:::::/ │
│ \:-~ ~-:/ │
│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ P R E S E N T S │
│ │
│ │
│ + Crusader - Onward Into Battle + │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Jan-21-2016 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2013 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......The_Patriarch Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... facebook.com/crusaderwarma ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Crusader Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : Onward Into Battle Label : StormSpell ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ With the resurgence of heavy and USPM in the ║ │
│║ last few years, I've been fortunate enough to ║ │
│║ witness the emergence of sweet new top-tier ║ │
│║ bands like Eternal Champion, Black Magic, and ║ │
│║ today's topic, Crusader. It's like it's 1985 ║ │
│║ again, except even better, because with the ║ │
│║ advent of the internet, obscure-ish bands are ║ │
│║ much easier to find, and I can get a practically ║ │
│║ comprehensive look at the heavy/power scene. ║ │
│║ With their 2013 debut Onward into Battle, ║ │
│║ Crusader make their mark on the scene. The band ║ │
│║ wears their influences on their sleeve, ║ │
│║ especially with a title like Onward into Battle. ║ │
│║ There's definitely quite a bit of Omen (Battle ║ │
│║ Cry, anyone?) here, mixed with some Brocas Helm, ║ │
│║ especially in the bass playing (Into Battle, ║ │
│║ anyone?) and some of the darker riffing makes me ║ │
│║ think there's some Mercyful Fate influence, or ║ │
│║ perhaps even a bit of doom, maybe Candlemass. ║ │
│║ Some of the songs ("Hopeless Destiny") are ║ │
│║ pretty evocative of some of the more epic and ║ │
│║ riffy NWOBHM like Dragonslayer or Tredegar. The ║ │
│║ vocals are a lot more melodic and laid-back on ║ │
│║ this one as well, further hearkening to that ║ │
│║ scene. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Speaking of vocals, the singer, known only as ║ │
│║ Hoagy, typically uses a gruff, powerful midrange ║ │
│║ not unlike that of the mighty J.D. Kimball, ║ │
│║ though even Hoagy, talented and charismatic as ║ │
│║ he is, can't quite achieve that level of ║ │
│║ godhood. He's got a bellow akin to that of Glen ║ │
│║ May, but again, I'm making comparisons in which ║ │
│║ Hoagy can't hope to come out on top. At any ║ │
│║ rate, he's quite a great vocalist, definitely a ║ │
│║ worthy addition to the album. In the true USPM ║ │
│║ spirit, he is up front but so are the guitars; ║ │
│║ the two share the spotlight, with either one ║ │
│║ being more at the forefront at any given time, ║ │
│║ but neither significantly outshining the other, ║ │
│║ which is a testament both to Hoagy's performance ║ │
│║ and vocal lines and the quality of the riffs. ║ │
│║ Not only does the band write quality riffs and ║ │
│║ vocal lines (as well as bass lines), but they ║ │
│║ construct them in such a way as to create an ║ │
│║ excellent flow such that the songs never get ║ │
│║ boring or rehashed; every song here is a winner, ║ │
│║ with not even a hint of filler to be found; this ║ │
│║ is incredibly consistent stuff, especially for a ║ │
│║ debut, at times rivaling old classics like ║ │
│║ Battle Cry and Into Battle themselves. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Of course, Crusader aren't merely derivative of ║ │
│║ the classics; they add plenty of their own ║ │
│║ element as well. Hoagy delivers some semi-harsh ║ │
│║ vocals at times which fit in very well, and some ║ │
│║ songs have a soaring anthemic quality not unlike ║ │
│║ Manowar, or perhaps a more adept Doomsword (Let ║ │
│║ Battle Commence, anyone?), mixed in with healthy ║ │
│║ doses of blue collar USPM, quirky Brocas Helm- ║ │
│║ isms, and huge, crushing riffs a la Skullview. ║ │
│║ This amalgamation really works beautifully, and ║ │
│║ as I've said there's truly never a dull moment ║ │
│║ on this album, even including a nine and a half ║ │
│║ minute epic that kicks ass throughout. I have ║ │
│║ very few complaints about this album, other than ║ │
│║ the fact that the clean voice Hoagy uses on ║ │
│║ "Hopeless Destiny" and "Arturius" is a bit weak, ║ │
│║ sounding sort of like a second-rate Kevin ║ │
│║ Heybourne, although that's still not too bad a ║ │
│║ sound to have; and the song "Zero Hour" being a ║ │
│║ tad overlong, with not enough riffs to fully ║ │
│║ support its length. Overall, though, this record ║ │
│║ is absolutely killer, indicative of the high ║ │
│║ quality of output that's been coming to the USPM ║ │
│║ scene in the last couple of years relative to ║ │
│║ the previous two decades. If you're a fan of the ║ │
│║ genre at all, pick this one up, you'll have ║ │
│║ yourself a good time. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - Thunderkill [04:02] │
│ 02 - Wartorn and Bleeding [04:50] │
│ 03 - Hopeless Destiny [03:44] │
│ 04 - Witch Hunt [06:14] │
│ 05 - Asgard's Fire [04:14] │
│ 06 - Arturius [09:35] │
│ 07 - Zero Hour [05:20] │
│ 08 - Dead Kings [04:44] │
│ 09 - Iron Forge [03:52] │
│ 10 - Onward into Batte [07:49] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [54:24 minn │
│ │
│ │
│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘