Artist: Crisis
Label: The End Records
Release Date: 5/25/04
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Title: Like Sheep Led to Slaughter Artist: Crisis Label: The End Records Release Date: 5/25/04 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Abyss's Review:
I counted myself a fan of this band in the 90s, but then they went out to L.A. for a change of scenery and I never heard from them again, until now. I always thought this band was underrated, and I'm hoping this album will put an end to that trend and give them the audience they deserve.Crisis play a off-kilter, exotic, and eclectic brand of metal that defies categorization and that can be enjoyed on different levels. Those who listen to metal for the aggression can enjoy this album along with the artier crowd, who will most likely be impressed by unobvious riffs and structures. The music is heavy, unclean, and disturbing, presenting a nightmare landscape accentuated by Karyn's angry roars and impish squeaks.
"One word review: Inspired." This album isn't for everyone, however. The songs can often be disjointed and lacking in flow, making for a more challenging listen than most metal - I guess this is what happens when your singer is also a performance artist. And to be honest, it is a little annoying in places . . . but I guess this is the price of art. I'm not sure if I like the production and engineering choices, but the attention to sound and craft is remarkable. While the less cerebral of you out there will most likely find some of this irritating, one thing you can't call it is boring. And in this day and age there is a lot to be said for that. The album is experimental and inspired, but it is also aggressive and unrelenting. Their use of sound and texture is beyond reproach, allowing their riffs to lead the listener without forcing anything.
I could see this album appealing to fans of bands as diverse as Alchemist, Akercocke, and Mr. Bungle, for their ability to lead the listener off the beaten path. This is simply an album you either love or hate, and that question is answered for me every time I hit the stretch of killer songs right in the middle of the record. One word review: Inspired.
Death's Review:
Crisis are back and it's about freakin' time. Last we heard from them they were moving from New York to L.A. to seek greater fame and fortune. In the interim, I've caught word of the occasional L.A. live show, and I know that Karyn has developed a successful line of metalwork and leatherwork products (www.karyncrisis.com). But only now are we treated to a new studio record, and it is a good one.
"Like Sheep Led to Slaughter, is out now on The End Records, and the return is indeed triumphant." For those of you who have never heard the band, Crisis had a couple of albums out on Metal Blade Records in the 1990s: 1996's Deathshead Extermination and 1997's The Hollowing. This album, Like Sheep Led to Slaughter, is out now on The End Records, and the return is indeed triumphant. The press calls Crisis experimental metalcore, but that does not do it justice. There is a certain chaotic brutality on display a la the metalcore of today, but this is really just classic Crisis, mixing Sabbath, Slayer and other old-school sounds with a punkier, rawer aesthetic, that drifts through tracks filled with flowing dynamics yet a steady intensity. Of course, the whole thing is topped off with vocalist Karyn Crisis' unique style, which consists of an unpredictable range that favors emotion over tonal consistency and is buttressed by death growls, squeaks, squawks and whatever else apparently comes to mind, sonically making Crisis one of the more original bands of the last decade. Visually, the multi-cultural lineup fronted by this petite woman with flowing dreadlocks who is sometimes accompanied by her angel wings onstage, the band is just as original.
Like Sheep Led to Slaughter may not be a concept album, but it definitely has at least one common theme that flows throughout. Namely, that humans are just "rats in a maze," running through the corridors searching for cheese, and ultimately led to their death "like sheep led to slaughter." At least that's what I'm hearing. All told this is a very good effort, much better than I expected from a band who I feared had lost their momentum. Here's hoping MTV and Fuse pick up on the new video they just shot here in L.A. Meanwhile I will continue to listen to this. It is very good, but misses that extra catchiness that would have put it over the top and given it that fifth skull. I'll be sure to catch them live the next time they play L.A.
Hel's Review:
Favorite track: "Politics of Domination"2004 has been a year dominated by new albums by favorite bands that have been long gone from the scene. Crisis is a bit different from most, as they have spent the time since their last album actively working and seeking a new deal, and, of course, it has not been as long since their last record as it has been for say, a couple of Bay Area thrash bands I could name. Still, I am just as excited, if not more so, to have this new album in my hands at long last.
The last time I saw Crisis, they were bidding New York farewell and heading for the West Coast in hopes of a shiny new future. A year or so after making the change, they also changed their name and sound, being known as Skullsick Nation for a short time, before apparently rethinking that idea, and returning to Crisis. Though I have lived in L.A. for a couple of years now myself, and Crisis has done a number of local shows, life has conspired to keep me from attending any of them. So chalk up another reason I'm glad to finally have this album in my hands. I needed a Crisis fix!
"Crisis fans rejoice - they have returned with a worthy addition to their stellar catalog." And what a fix it is! Frankly, I don't know what they could have done to make me any happier with this. Sure, my eyebrows rose when I first heard "Rats in a Maze" but after a few listens I realized this was setting up the next track, "Secrets of the Prison House," and it performs its job perfectly, despite the surface incongruity of the round. We must never forget, Karyn is an artist, after all.
The rest of the songs on the album are devastating. Brutal, yet beautiful, just like the juxtaposition found in Karyn's unique vocal style. Yes, I am a huge fan of this band, but my affection for this record goes beyond that. I simply do not want to take this disc out of my player. Every time I do manage to coax myself into replacing it with something else, I find myself putting it back in once the other has finished. Usually, when I complete a review, the album goes into my "finished" pile. This one will instead go into my "addicted" pile - the stack of CDs that keep returning to my player time and again, because I am totally and completely addicted to them.
Crisis fans rejoice - they have returned with a worthy addition to their stellar catalog. This album is also a fine place for newcomers to start, though they will no doubt have to become accustomed to Karyn's love-it-or-hate-it vocals, which are truly one of a kind, developed before anyone even considered the concept of a woman doing death growls. She's the angel with the voice from hell, and she'll rock your world, if given the chance. You should all give Crisis the chance to rock your world - Like Sheep Led to Slaughter certainly has the power to do so.
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