When an album’s on Listenable Records, how bad can it be? The answer is ‘not bad at all’.
Barcelona thrashers Crisix have created an eminently listenable (excuse the pun) third album. It takes a long time to gather all the facets required to make a truly great band, and Crisix definitely have the riff chops in place; their excellent guitarwork often comes across like Artillery, which is quite the compliment. The quintet are also supremely tight, rendering their aggressive, speed-focused racket in an unholy union.
Conspiranoia and Journey Through The Fire, are tremendous examples of fiery thrash, with some seriously satisfying riffs. What Crisix still need, if they’re going to cement a place in people’s brains, are songs.
Their choruses tend to be of the mob-chant variety, which are fine but can sound samey if you aren’t too careful. And Crisix aren’t too careful. So we’re left with a solid album from which you can barely remember a standout moment, even after several plays. There is still hope for album four, though.
