Artist: Crucifire
Country: Australia
Label: Trauma Records
Formats: CD
Year: 2025
‘Dark Souls Abyss’ is a compilation of the majority of Crucifire’s work, recorded back in the 00’s. Yet, you don’t have to feel ashamed of not having heard any of the material before. Although the rough catalogue of the band is more than worthwhile, it hardly got the recognition it deserved. The Death Metal band was rather short-lived, roughly existing some five years between 2002 and 2007, but was able to deliver a fine demo tape (also reissued on a 7” EP by Genocide Production in 2006) and a 7” EP that saw the light of day at the very end of Crucifire’s life. These tracks are now made available again on CD by Trauma Records from Colombia.
We are presented with the tracks in chronological order, meaning the CD starts with the three tracks of the ‘Unblessed Unto Hatred’ demo tape, that was originally released in 2003 by the band themselves in an edition of 500 copies. A said, this EP was reissued in 2006 on vinyl as well, and this EP had an extra track called ‘Curse Of Hate (Storming The Gates)’ that is also included on this compilation. I would be surprised if this extra track wasn’t just recorded within the same session as the other three songs, as the vibe and sound are practically identical. The remaining three tracks are taken from the ‘Thy Curse Denied’ 7” EP that was released in 2006 by Calabozo. These seven tracks clock in well under the 25-minute mark. That makes you wonder why the three rehearsal tracks from the split tape with Nocturnal Vomit from 2002 are not included. Not only would that have given “Dark Souls Abyss” a bit more body, it would also have provided a complete overview of what the band stood for, a piece of preserving Australian Death Metal history. I can only guess at the reasons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this decision had something to do with sound quality. But, it’s a true pity, as that short rehearsal set contains tracks not present on this CD in any other version.
Anyway, these guys knew what they were doing. Their brand of Death Metal might be a little rough around the edges and the recording quality is not quite on Morrisound levels, but it is exactly this that makes Crucifire’s music so attractive. Besides, the band seems to have taken inspiration from a wild range of different bands from all over the globe. Sometimes the music sits heavily in the American tradition, but all of a sudden swings to a more European fashion of Death Metal – both Finnish and Dutch Death Metal. As a whole, this comes down to a rather intelligent sort of Death Metal that should appeal to fans of the ore Old School kind. I am hearing hints and shards of Vital Remains, old Broken Hope, Sinister, Gorement, Angelcorpse, Demigod and Gorefest. Rather technical, with lots of twists and turns, breaks and changing rhythms. The rather dry production adds much to the old school feeling and reminds me a lot of the many early 7” EP’s that were released during the early 90’s. The last song deserves an extra mention, the Mystifier cover in the form of ‘Beelzebub’ might not be the most obvious choice, but the band poured it in their own mould of authentic early 90’s Death Metal, making it a very interesting cover song.
Although the band was rather short-lived and it’s a shame that these absolute great tracks never gotten the appreciation they deserved, I think the band served its purpose. Crucifire wasn’t the first or last band for these musicians, they are/were in lots of other great Australian bands like Encabulos, Destruktor, Deströyer 666, Random Violence, Coffin Lust, Trench Hell, Nocturnal Graves and many more. Guitarist and bassist Steven Hull as well as drummer Jarro Raphael are also in Unholy Redeemer together, a band that is named after the opening track of Crucifire’s first demo tape. With that, the circle seems complete and the spirit of Crucifire lives on.
