CRUCIFIER (USA) – ‘Led Astray’ LP Gatefold

two years after their weird & wild Say Your Prayers mini-album, CRUCIFIER align with IRON BONEHEAD once again for the release of their third full-length, Led Astray. Taking the wandering yet fully locked-in songwriting of that mini to its ultimate conclusion, Led Astray is a masterclass in memorable, METAL riffing and twisted rhythmic thrust. As is their signature, CRUCIFIER sound positively primal here but never primitive; while these nine screeds of blasphemy might confuse or insult normcore listeners, there’s an extremely considered & calculated delirium behind their blackened devilry. As such, the “tight looseness” that’s characterized CRUCIFIER’s work to date gets sharpened to an enviable degree as these nine labyrinths surge and storm with a paradoxical / perverse sense of class. Credit the latter largely to the jaw-dropping dual lead-work across Led Astray: an element that’s been bubbling in the CRUCIFIER cauldron for years, but which really reaches a superlative level here. Of course, Grant’s vocals are as diabolic as ever, seemingly coming from every direction and hackle-raising in their articulation. CRUCIFIER hereby have delivered a modern classic of blackened death metal in Led Astray!