Crucial Change - The Watcher

True Color Records

 

It has only been two years since Seattle, WA’s Crucial Change released their best work to date in the form of the album “So It Begins” and its successor, the “Mourning In America” EP. Both released by various labels on both vinyl and compact-disc, 2014 ostensibly seemed like a good year for the boys of Legion 33. But perhaps there was more than meets the eye, because now it’s 2016 and the band took charge back into their own hands regarding future releases, through the band’s own True Color Records.

 

First up on True Color Records is “The Watcher”, a five-track cassette-EP released to get the buzz started for their upcoming full-length LP “The Fire Next Time”! A release on tape always comes with a certain charm, at least to me, but I am very excited about the fact that four out of these five tracks will make it onto vinyl as well. Because musically Crucial Change is still on the rise!

 

“The Watcher” basically picks up where “Mourning In America” left off. Extremely powerful, the sound of Crucial Change is as brutal as ever before. The tight rhythm section with its pounding drums, the great melodies and solos from the guitar, the mean vocals of Tyler and the massive back-up vocals all live up to the norm Legion 33 set for themselves with their previous two efforts, and then some! All thanks to the surprising (without a doubt an understatement) cover that rounds the cassette up, Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning”! Unavailable on the future full-length, this cover surpasses every expectation and works out perfectly well! Good times!

 

But with that being said, the four originals Crucial Change delivers, namely “July 26th”, “Final Call”, title-track “The Watcher” and the stunning “Solidarity” are absolute burners as well, making you wish you had a tape-deck! Fortunately enough a digital release will accompany the cassette, which is limited to 100 copies, but all this makes you wish that “The Fire Next Time” comes out sooner than later! Killer!