Ottawa band Crusades’ fascination with mainstream rock and roll music has become more and more apparent with each new album. On this latest full-length LP, seeing simultaneous release on both sides of the Atlantic, it’s more apparent than ever. Smoothed vocals, progressive rock sounds, ballads, complex arrangements: they’re all there. Yes, there is plenty of crunchy guitar, heavy bass and post-hardcore power, but that’s not the dominant take-away. Crusades continue the same journey taken by bands such as Rise Against, from punk roots toward mass appeal and mainstream success.
Songs like ‘1846 (Once Drinking Deep)’ or ‘1828 (Father of Waves)’ are ready-made for big arena shows, with an epic sound, overly emotive vocals, and close harmonies. The self-indulgent breakdowns and bridges are more reminiscent of pseudo-progressive hair metal bands than of anything related to punk or hardcore and listening to the big ballad, ‘1940 (Whirr and Chime)’, one can visualize the big crowd of fans, lighters clutched in hands held high, swaying back and forth.
None of this is to say the album isn’t without its moments. ‘1894 (Children of Silence and Eternity)’ is a short, gorgeous acoustic instrumental track with a renaissance-Italian flair. A pair of acoustic guitars duel while piano, cello, and percussion lie underneath. Immediately after, ‘1868 (Porch and Portal)’ explodes into a blast of pounding hardcore fury. The juxtaposition of the two tracks is startling; the quiet beauty of the former is seductive and the raw fury of the latter is overwhelming, but one pair of tracks doesn’t make an album.
Punk rock was a reaction to the excesses of mainstream rock music. It seems things have come full circle with this latest album from Crusades.
PAUL SILVER