Vagabond's Band of the Month: Cruciform

Band: Cruciform
Year of Formation: 1990
Country of Origin: Australia
Genre: Death/Doom Metal

Formed way back in 1990, Cruciform released a legendary EP in '93 entitled "Atavism" that can be considered one of the pioneering releases in the death/doom subgenre of metal. They followed this up with a 2 track demo, "Paradox" in 1995 before splitting later that year. They have recently reformed and I had the pleasure of catching their first show since reuniting last week and they absolutely blew me away. I am really looking forward to seeing them perform again at Evil Invaders V.

Word is that they are working on new material, so now is a great time to check out their earlier work...

Eliminator - Krieg Thrash

Review written by James Goatfukk.

In all brutal honesty, there hasn't been a whole lot of newer Thrash Metal bands that have impressed me a great deal with the exception of a few good ones here and there. For me, REAL Thrash is supposed to be straight-forward and absolutely merciless in its delivery. Now, if you can associate with my thoughts and you absolutely fucking loathe the shitty retro crap of bands like Bonded by Blood and other homosexual-inspired shit of the same ilk, then look no further; I present you with the German-based riff machine—ELIMINATOR—a band that have opted for a more 80’s influenced sound with a pure dose of much needed aggression. No, seriously...these guys are the real deal as far as the new wave of Thrash is concerned. Fuck, I don’t even know if I’m comfortable associating ELIMINATOR with the new wave. ELIMINATOR might as well be from the 80’s, but maybe they are what the modern scene needs? Bands like ELIMINATOR to keep the old school flame alive and burning which I believe, will be burning for a very long time. Expose your ears to the brutal sounds of ELIMINATOR. They will reveal that the band isn’t about showcasing their musical skills or infusing nice melodies to impress little fangirls—instead; ELIMINATOR goes straight for the throat and delivers straight-forward, vicious Thrash Metal reminiscent of the classic Teutonic sound and 80’s/early 90’s American Death/Thrash. The tempo is for the most part quite fast and furious with a strong implication to albums like ‘Endless Pain’ and ‘Infernal Overkill’ . The album opens with the instrumental ‘Raging Shrapnel Hail’ and right from the beginning the fucking riffs are absolutely shredding your skull to pieces. The second track ‘Merciless Beast’ storms forth to proceed on the aural assault on your senses with vocals that sounds nothing short of ballistic. There’s nothing really “fresh” about Krieg Thrash; nothing the Thrash Metal aficionados haven’t heard all before— but boy, do they rip it up with the best of their abilities. Without a doubt, the band’s sound is archetypal of what Thrash today should sound like. These maniacs possess the spirit of the 80’s and are here to claim your soul.

Attacker- Giants of Canaan Review

There must be something in the air lately, as another lesser-known metal band has released an album this year. Here we feature New Jersey power metallers, Attacker. Those that are familiar with them might remember their cult classic albums, The Battle at Helm's Deep and The Second Coming, and those that aren't I highly recommend you do so! Their new album, Giants of Canaan, doesn't leave much room for disappointment.

The first track is a short instrumental with a slight chorus-y effect and warbling synth. It's subtle and has none of the pomp as you would hear from other power metal bands. It gives a dark undertone before the fury is unleashed in the first full song, "Giants of Canaan."  Really, the first three songs ("Giants of Canaan," "Trapped in Black," and "The Hammer") just punch you in the teeth. Hell, the entire album shakes you up and asks for your lunch money.

Another upside to this is that it doesn't sound like an old band trying to recapture their youth. None of the songs sound tired and rehashed. Granted, 3/5s of the lineup are new members -only Pat Marinelli (guitars) and Mike Sabatini (drums) are original members- but the sound has so much fire to it. Guitar work is an integral part of heavy metal, especially for genres like power metal, and Pat Marinelli and Mike Benetatos don't leave you hanging. Aggressive and chunky riffs are apparent, along with classical-esque harmonies. The solos are great, like little pieces of shredding epicness, but they're nothing to put on a list of Best 10. The vocals, done by Bobby Lucas of Overlorde and Morbid Sin, are phenomenal. He sounds like a cross between Halford and Dickinson, aggressive and high-pitched but operatic.

There aren't many weak tracks. The album starts off strong, gives you a breather in the middle -barely-, and ends strong. Many of the choruses are catchy enough to chant along to, riffs are headbangable, and there are plenty of opportunities to break out your air guitar. For those that are interested in lyrical matter, Attacker has always been one of those bands that has had more-than-decent subjects. Nothing Tolkien-inspired like their first album, but here we see lyrics taken from history battles (Franks fighting the Moors in Spain), biblical matter (the gory parts that a lot of people tend to skip over), war, vikings, and then that one metal anthem. Nothing campy here.

In short, it's a solid, above-average album that actually went above my expectations. I expected sub-par playing and was very wrong. Do you feel like buying a power metal album without the fluff of modern symphonic bands? Listen to this!