Earth Crisis

To The Death

[3.5/5]



Earth Crisis used to be as insufferable as any other band more attached to their politics than their music. (Start a rock band because you want to rock, not preach.) But their thick-necked blend of metal and hardcore found a sizable audience among testosterone-addled dudes who wanted to fight with strangers about said strangers’ lifestyle choices, so this, their first album since reuniting in 2007, will please a whole new generation of knuckle-draggers. Seriously, though, it’s a really good album full of thunderous drumming and surprisingly intricate and powerful riffs. Vocalist Karl Buechner’s roar hasn’t diminished one bit in the seven years the band were away. Nor has he sullied himself with bacon cheeseburgers: On the album-closing title track, he shouts, “Vegan for life!” with the fervor of a true diehard.
(CENTURY MEDIA) Phil Freeman