Crusade For Sickness

I've been a huge fan of Crusades since Sandwell introduced me to their first album back in 2011. Even though their second album didn't nearly capture me like their debut, I still found myself in a panic to get my order in as soon as I discovered that album number three was available.

With This Is A Sickness And Sickness Will End, Crusades continue their theme of black and grey cover designs and ridiculously long album titles.

When I stopped in to check out the Anxious and Angry Records store, all the vinyl was already sold out, and the only options left was to pick up the vinyl and t shirt package deal. I wasn't excited about having to spend the extra money to get the shirt as well, but I didn't want to miss out on the vinyl, so I did what I had to do.

Purple and green splatter on black vinyl. Interesting choice.

The album itself definitely maintains that Crusades sound...great driving punk rock.

Another Crusade

Back in 2011, Sandwell blindsided me with one of the biggest surprises of the year...Crusades. Two years later, the band was back with their follow up LP, and again it was Mark that let me know it was available. I had no idea this was on the way, so again, it was a nice surprise.

Much like the new Iron Chic record, I wasn't really feeling the new Crusades when I first heard it. I don't know what my problem is...maybe I've had too much Metal on my mind...but after giving it more than just a casual listen, damn, this album is really good. Great melodic punk with some strong anti-religion themes, and Perhaps You Deliver This Judgement With Greater Fear Than I Receive It has to be one of the longest album titles that I own.

The standard pressing for this LP is on both solid red and brown vinyl. However, when I was picking up a copy over at No Idea, I saw that they also had a special The Fest 12 edition available. I have no idea what the Fest 12 is, but with more limited colored vinyl options, it was an easy decision on which one I wanted. Around 30 pressed on clear red vinyl.

Crusading Parables

Crusades was a huge surprise for me last year, almost working their way into my Top 5 for 2011. Their blend of melodic, upbeat, and dark punk rock, with a strong anti-religious stance, was absolutely perfect. I could not get enough of their The Sun Is Down LP. Sandwell was the one to introduce me to Crusades, and it was him again that let me know they had released a new 7 inch over the summer.

I really wanted to get this new record, but I couldn't find it available in North America. If I was to order it, I'd have to pick it up direct from the overseas label that released it. I wasn't excited to have to pay more in shipping than the one record that I wanted...so I waited. I think I lasted almost a month before I broke down and finally ordered it from Destructure overseas. Oh well, at least I was able to pick up the clear vinyl that was limited to 100 for this release.

Upon first listen, I wasn't too excited over the Parables 7 inch. At first I thought that the songs weren't as strong as the ones from the LP, but the more I listened to them, the more I liked them. I think that was initially threw me off was that the two song 7 inch was just too short, and it was over too quickly for me to really get into them. After sitting with these two songs for a couple of weeks, I'm loving them and hoping for some more from this band.