CRUSADES - The Sun Is Down And The Night Is Riding In

Artist:  Crusades
Album:  The Sun Is Down And The Night Is Riding In
Year:  2011
Genre:  Punk

I owe listening to this band to a dear friend of mine.  Crusades play a style of punk rock that I will fall all over every single fucking time; raw, driving, brash instrumentation with hook filled vocals and a darker lyrical theme.  The last record that hit me like this was AFI's The Art Of Drowning.  Different style, but same effectiveness.  I wouldn't label the singing as poppy, but it's almost guaranteed you'll be humming along after the first few listens.  Crusades changes the tempos just enough that when you need that burst of high energy, they give it to you, but they also know when to hit the brakes and take it down a bit.  This makes for a varied and interesting listen.  The other positive is that the production is punk rock!  No overproduced "Fat Wreck" tones here.  It sounds like a bunch of guys plugged in, cranked the gain and went for it.  Buzzsaw guitars, loud drums, gritty vocals....just like it should be.  Highly recommended.

I have a dear friend to thank for introducing me to this band.  Crusades play the kind of punk rock that that I will fall all over every single fucking time: raw, driving, brash instrumentation with infectious vocal hooks and lyrical themes that don't exactly rain down sunshine.  The last record that grabbed me this hard was The Art of Drowning by AFI. The stylings are a bit different but both have the same impact.  I wouldn't call the vocals poppy, yet after a few listens you'll almost certainly find yourself humming along.  Crusades changes the tempos just enough that when you need that burst of high energy, they give it to you, but they also know when to hit the brakes and take it down a bit making for a varied and interesting listen.  The other positive is that the production is punk rock!  No overproduced "Fat Wreck" tones here.  It sounds like a bunch of guys plugged in, cranked the gain and went for it.  Buzzsaw guitars, loud drums, gritty vocals....just like it should be.  Highly recommended.

Listen to "Sacraments" here.