One of the cool things about working on a reviews site is when a band pops up out of nowhere and immediately grabs your attention. This is certainly the case with The Crux, a metal band from County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed in 2011, the band have clearly been making headway at home and, with Time and Space, it’s easy imagine the word spreading further. A four track EP, Time and Space has a strong production behind it, providing the band’s frantic riffing with no small amount of weight, and the deft mix of thrash fire and stoner groove certainly packs a punch.
The EP opens with the no-nonsense crunch of Being (also released as a single) and it’s immediate from the battering of the drums that the time spent in Manor Park studios was well spent. The vocals are both melodic and powerful, recalling the likes of early Metallica or, more recently, Evile, and it’s an approach that allows for the song to be both hefty and memorable. Up next, the title track is a slower, darker beast with a doomy undercurrent and a vocal reminiscent of Megadeth. An impressively arranged song that slips across a range of influences, without falling too close to any in particular, it’s a potent showcase of the band’s ability and it has one hell of a groove to it. Opening with the sort of riff that Metallica loved during the Black Album, Cornered takes off as a chugging riff clears away the ringing opening chords, while the vocals remain firmly rooted at the harder end of the spectrum, almost punk in their delivery. As if the EP has been building to this moment, Your Misery Will Kill Us All is arguably the heaviest and most technical of the tracks, despite a more varied approach to the vocals, which veer from guttural roar to clean delivery and back. It’s a powerful closer and it leaves the listener most interested as to where this talented band will go next.
At twenty minutes in length, Time and Space does a fantastic job of grabbing the attention. The band are clearly talented, and the time spent on production has paid off, because the EP has a strong, uncluttered sound with plenty of weight behind it. Each of the tracks shows a band who are well aware of their influences but unwilling to pitch themselves too close to any band in particular, and the arrangements are impressive (especially the multi-faceted title track). Where The Crux go next will be interesting to see and I, for one, will be eagerly waiting to see their next move. 8.5/10
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