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Debut LP from Montreal's battle crust crushers.
The sounds of desperate charges at first light, long forced marches through the frozen wastes, and the desperate joy of finding yourself still drawing breath as you look across the blasted field of battle.
Heavy and punishing crust punk.
Our take: It looks like this Montreal band has been kicking around for at least five years, and the time Warkrusher spent honing their sound pays off with their debut LP, Armistice. Warkrusher’s logo and artwork are a clear nod to Bolt Thrower, and if you come to Armistice looking for Bolt Thrower-style epic, crusty death metal, you won’t be disappointed. Not being an expert on Bolt Thrower, I don’t feel qualified to get into the weeds about how Warkrusher matches up on a riff-by-riff basis, but they’re great at channeling that swampy groove that is the basis of so many of Bolt Thrower’s classic mid-paced parts (see “Apostate”). Ultimately, though, I don’t think you can dismiss Warkrusher as a “worship” band, as there’s plenty more going on. The title track, for instance, is built around a super catchy main riff with a sleazy vibe that wouldn’t be out of place on a Midnight record. “Shadows” pulls from a similar palette of influences as Hellshock… more the Amebix / Hellbastard / Axegrinder end of the crust spectrum. It’s not a million miles away from Bolt Thrower, but it’s not totally on the nose either. While Warkrusher’s references to their influences might be the nudge you need to check them out, Armistice is a well-produced, tightly composed LP that will keep any true crusty’s fist in the air.
The sounds of desperate charges at first light, long forced marches through the frozen wastes, and the desperate joy of finding yourself still drawing breath as you look across the blasted field of battle.
Heavy and punishing crust punk.
Our take: It looks like this Montreal band has been kicking around for at least five years, and the time Warkrusher spent honing their sound pays off with their debut LP, Armistice. Warkrusher’s logo and artwork are a clear nod to Bolt Thrower, and if you come to Armistice looking for Bolt Thrower-style epic, crusty death metal, you won’t be disappointed. Not being an expert on Bolt Thrower, I don’t feel qualified to get into the weeds about how Warkrusher matches up on a riff-by-riff basis, but they’re great at channeling that swampy groove that is the basis of so many of Bolt Thrower’s classic mid-paced parts (see “Apostate”). Ultimately, though, I don’t think you can dismiss Warkrusher as a “worship” band, as there’s plenty more going on. The title track, for instance, is built around a super catchy main riff with a sleazy vibe that wouldn’t be out of place on a Midnight record. “Shadows” pulls from a similar palette of influences as Hellshock… more the Amebix / Hellbastard / Axegrinder end of the crust spectrum. It’s not a million miles away from Bolt Thrower, but it’s not totally on the nose either. While Warkrusher’s references to their influences might be the nudge you need to check them out, Armistice is a well-produced, tightly composed LP that will keep any true crusty’s fist in the air.