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Bridging the gap between Faith no More, Killing Joke and Slayer, New York art-metal troupe Crisis is fronted by charismatic and eccentric vocalist Karyn Crisis, whose schizophrenic vocal stylings (including everything from melodic singing to death-grunts to impulsive squeaks and squawks) simply defied description. Formed in the early 90's, Crisis was also a multi-cultural stew, throwing Pakistani guitarist Afzaal Nasiruddeen, Taiwanese bassist Gia Chuan Wang and American drummer Fred Waring into a musical melting pot of frightening proportions, first put on public display via 1994's 8 Convulsions L.P. Their landmark second opus Deathshead Extermination followed two years later and it's fair to say that its head-spinning songwriting complexity and unmitigated brutality set the underground metal world on its ear, if not much else. The same was true of 1997's somewhat more restrained The Hollowing, but a long silence descended until 2001, when it was announced that the band was finally set for a comeback under a different name, that being Skullsick Nation. This announcement was retracted only a year later, however, and after welcoming guitarist/drummer Jywanza Hobson, Crisis began work on a fourth album. On a side note, Karyn Crisis has also garnered many followers for her work as a leather-smith. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide |
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