2007-05-27
The early 90's were the best time for thrash fans, thrash bands were leaking out the woodwork, and a thrash fans had a huge selection of known to unknown bands to pick from. Some of the more obscure thrash bands really had nothing of interest to offer, they didn’t remain anonymous for nothing, but some - a small part – were bands that fate alone prevented from reaching a much wider audience, bands that actually did something unique and strong, and Crux are one such band.
Formed in 80's in the Czech republic, this band was the brainchild of "Root" guitarist Petr “Blackosh“ Hošek and "Denet" man Roman Kríbek, the band created some aggressive, extremely fast blackened thrash in the vein of
Venom and early
Kreator and
Sodom, with strong harsh vocals and a dirty sound to boot.
"Sound" is quite a strong word for this, the album is actually a re-release of the band's 2 demos, as they never really did get to complete a full length release, as such – the sound is quite respectable. Still, don’t expect a
Metallica album here; this is fast, dirty and raw, with fast guitars, rambling bass and harsh and gurgled vocals that scream their way through the tracks.
You've already gathered that this is for old-school fans only, but the thing is that there is some serious quality here nevertheless: the guys can play, the bass is top notch and very prominent in the music, the guitars are well done, and the drumming – as furious and uncontrolled as it is – is quite impressive.
The main thing – there's atmosphere here, the real energy and enthusiasm only youth can deliver, and this is why this long-lost gem is a must for oldschool thrash and black metal fans, it's just a really good album.
Alon Miasnikov
