Crucial Change - The Fire Next Time (LP)

Combate Brutal

 

Originally released as a CD on Crucial Change’s own True Color Records in 2017, the bands fourth album - “The Fire Next Time” - finally gets the release it deserves, on vinyl! Released by Portuguese label Combate Brutal you know you are in for a treat and indeed we are!

 

Simultaneously released with the vinyl version of Faction S’ demo, the label released two scorching releases in a single blow! Now I’ve already wrote a raving review on the demo 12” of the Parisians, and my review on “The Fire Next Time” won’t be any less! As a matter of fact, I’ve already wrote this review two years ago, because I obviously own the CD-version as well. Curious? Then click HERE.

 

But aside the music, everything else about this edition is different. The format, the artwork, the lay-out, the fact that time around the lyrics are included, the tracklist... obviously all changes for the better, finally making it the top release it should have been more than two years ago! The artwork - illustrations from the book ‘Devises Heroiques’ - and lay-out (with gold ink) is simply beautiful, the included lyrics a must as Crucial Change’s songs are smart and well written and the extended tracklist with three bonus tracks gives us even more to enjoy!

 

“Absolution”, “Missing Page” and “The Choice” weren’t featured on 2017’s CD release and as far as my memory serves, all three were previously unreleased. Yet it’s unclear to me if these tracks were recorded in a later stage, or during the same session as the rest of the album. Does it matter? Not really of course, what does matter is that all three tracks are in line with the original album and that they enrich this vinyl edition. Crucial Change succeeds on both fronts and makes me want to spin this record over and over again... again!

 

“The Fire Next Time” is limited to 200 heavy-weight pieces of black vinyl, but of course the cover artwork comes in two different versions, limited to 100 copies each. Usually Combate Brutal does a color variation (black on white print or white on black print for example), but for this release the illustration is different as well, putting it’s customers in a small dilemma - though most will buy both variations anyway! Superb!