Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade - review
Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade - review
Tracklist
01. The IVth Crusade02. Icon
03. Embers
04. Where Next To Conquer
05. As The World Burns
06. This Time It's War
07. Ritual
08. Spearhead
09. Celestial Sanctuary
10. Dying Creed
11. Through The Ages (Outro)
12. Crown Of Life [reissue bonus]
13. Lament [reissue bonus]
A review by
Troy Killjoy April 25, 2012
The IVth Crusade is looked upon as an old school death metal release by today's standards, but in its time this was seriously brutal stuff - with less of an occult vibe than Onward to Golgotha, less doomy passages than Last One on Earth, less primitive than Legion... you could go on and on about what this album lacks in comparison to others released during the same year, but what The IVth Crusade has that those other albums don't is a surreal sense of professionalism and duty, as if the band members took it upon themselves not to provide the "most" anything, but to supply the listener with the exact ingredients necessary for a death metal masterpiece.
No gimmicks, no marketing ploys or fancy tricks, no studio magic or plasticized emotions - this is just pure fucking death metal. Raw, edgy, slow, and - most importantly - crushing. Every riff brings with it a sense of subtle melody and groove, yet each gritty chord being struck comes with the danger of caving in your skull. These guys (and girl!) ensure the production doesn't take away any of the primitive barbaric emotion displayed by Thompson and Ward's excellent guitar work, despite such a professional sounding approach. You can feel the spite behind the mic thanks to an almost lethargic-sounding display of beastly snarls and harsh rasps by Karl Willetts, and drummer Andy Whale pounds away relentlessly behind the kit as the album wears you down. The inclusion of scarce melodic elements really adds to the album's authenticity, as the listener is made aware of the musicians' songwriting prowess. Songs flow together seamlessly with plenty of hooks and groove, making for one of the easiest "difficult" listens you'll ever experience.
At the end of the day, The IVth Crusade has proven over the years it deserves its status as a timeless death metal classic. The band's no-nonsense approach to creating some snail-paced oppressive death metal worked wonders and we're left with just over 50 minutes of solid death metal to marvel at as a result.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 10 |
| Originality: | 9 |
| Production: | 10 |
Written on 25.04.2012 by
Written on 25.04.2012 by
I'm total pro; that's what I'm here for. Comments
Comments:
13
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222 users
 Posts: 1465 |
Posts: 1465
Top review - well written. Took me back to the day when I was into this album.
---- The sun shines over The Fool...
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 Posts: 15360 |
Posts: 15360
I prefer ...For Victory, which I think was the band at their 80's/90's zenith ("Those Once Loyal" is on the same par, even a decade and change later) , but this album is mighty close. good to see more BT reviews. kudos.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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Posts: 21306 Written by BitterCOld on 27.04.2012 at 01:28 My thoughts exactly, but this one needed a review since Richard covered TOL and you covered FV. It still amazes me that a band can release three death metal masterpieces when so many others can't even muster up anything more than "decent" with a handful of releases.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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 Posts: 6213 |
Posts: 6213
I agree with every word of the review. A brilliant album from start to finish. I'm old enough to remember its release and how floored I was by its heaviness. It fucking sucks that since then death metal morphed into "brutal" death metal bullshit. Every single song off this album effortlessly blows all modern death metal out of the water.
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Posts: 1941  |
Posts: 1941
One of my favorite Death Metal albums. A classic, Imo.
---- They shake your hand and they smile and they buy you a drink They say we'll be your friends we'll stick with you till the end But everybody's only looking out for themselves And you say who can you trust I'll tell you nobody
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Posts: 905  |
Posts: 905
I prefer Realm of Chaos to this but you cant go wrong with Bolt Thrower. Nice review.
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Posts: 21306 Written by @gent_-_orange on 07.05.2012 at 03:05 Thanks. Personally I'd give RoC a high 8 but like you said, you can't go wrong with these guys. Even their worst material is better than like... any other death metal band's best. (Slight exaggeration, but you get my point.)
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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 Posts: 4862 |
Posts: 4862
I totally agree - a great review of a great album. Crushing slow to mid-paced Death Metal, with plenty of hooks and groove as you said. The title track (devastating main riff) and Celestial Sanctuary (excellent chorus and lyrics - not about war for a change!) are particularly brilliant, but there's not really a weak point on the whole album. Another highlight is Through The Ages, with its solemn spoken word narration (in a Birmingham accent!) and doomy feel. "World War II, 1939-1945... the war that should never have happened, a prime example of man's inhumanity". Like I said in my Those Once Loyal review, Bolt Thrower write a lot about war but with a sense of respect and intelligence rather than just 'let's kill everyone' or some such bullshine!
---- 
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Posts: 21306 Written by Richard on 23.05.2012 at 04:02 That's initially what grabbed my attention in the first place. They seem rather honorable for a death metal band, while others aim for vulgarity. It's refreshing, even if the band has been around longer than I've been alive.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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Posts: 3554  |
Posts: 3554 Written by BitterCOld on 27.04.2012 at 01:28 I feel like they never managed to top Warmaster or Eternal War. Those two are absolute classics with all of their other albums being either good or great.
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Posts: 1469  |
Posts: 1469 Written by Daniell on 27.04.2012 at 22:59 Yep. I remember that I was into (old school) Death Metal in the early 90's but I moved away from the genre when it started to move too much towards Brutal Death Metal. Apart from Nile, which I see more as Technical Death Metal with different influences (and not purely as Brutal Death, though it definitely incorporates Brutal Death elements), I have an aversion for Brutal Death.
---- "Why would we fear death, when life is so much more frightening?"
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Posts: 946 |
Posts: 946
Spectacular from start to finish, although i prefer "Warmaster". But still, an excellent record. 
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 Posts: 2794 |
Posts: 2794 Written by BlankFile on 13.02.2021 at 22:50 These are my words on this album.  You are my man on Bolt Thrower it seems. 
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