Earth Crisis
is a vegan straight edge metalcore band from Syracuse, New York, that recorded and performed from 1991 until they broke up in 2001. They have reunited and been active again since 2007. A new record was released on Century Media records in early May 2009 entitled "To The Death."
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EARTH CRISIS TICKETS
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Band history
Earth Crisis is known for supporting
animal rights (including organizations such as the
Animal Liberation Front), and promoting a
straight edge,
vegan lifestyle.
Lyrics are replete with strong statements, many concerning animal abuse and political issues. The title song from their second album, entitled
Firestorm
, with lyrics depicting a neighborhood submerged in
drug addiction and crime, became an anthem for followers of the straight edge
ideology.
The first two albums,
All Out War
(1992) and
Firestorm
(1993), made the band popular in some
hardcore punk and metalcore circles. The next two full-length records,
Destroy the Machines
(1995) and
Gomorrah's Season Ends
(1996), brought a more complex and developed form of metalcore. The band's growing popularity was noticed by
Roadrunner Records; a new record deal pushed the band to record
Breed the Killers
(1998), featuring a guest appearance by
Machine Head's vocalist and guitarist,
Robb Flynn. The band then left the label and returned to
Victory Records, releasing
2000's
Slither
soon after. With clear and professional production, it surprised some listeners and introduced the band's music to a wider audience.
2001
In 2001 Earth Crisis ceased to be but the members of the band
"distance from this dialogue"
[1]
The band's final album,
Last of the Sane
(2001), is Earth Crisis' tribute to those bands which influenced them.
Covers of songs by
The Rolling Stones,
Slayer,
Led Zeppelin,
Cream and
Dead Kennedys were included. This was found amusing by some because bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones embody much of what Earth Crisis were against.
In 2001, Earth Crisis played their final show at
Hellfest in
Syracuse, New York [2].
After breaking up, frontman
Karl Buechner, along with Bulldog and Erick Edwards, started the band Freya, previously known as Nemesis. Karl Buechner, Erick Edwards, Bulldog, Scott Crouse and Dennis Merrick were also in the band Path of Resistance, which was formed during down time from touring in 1997. The band also consisted of D.J. Rose and Jonathan Dennison.
2002
In June 2002 the band members collecively apologized for their silence in regard to breaking up, stating,
- "Many rumors have been circulating about what has happened to Earth Crisis, and for the most part we have kept our distance from this dialogue. We apologize for our silence, but we felt it was necessary to keep quiet until we decided what we definitely wanted to do. It is now time to let you - the people who have been with us throughout our career - know where we are at. We have chosen to dissolve Earth Crisis. There are many reasons that we have come to this decision, but it is sufficient to say here that it was our time to leave Earth Crisis - a project we have immersed ourselves in for the past ten years. It was quite difficult for us to come to this decision, especially when we were at such a good point in our career. We suppose we have chosen to leave Earth Crisis behind at this point so as to preserve it in each of your memories (and ours) as a vital and vibrant force. Slither, we feel, is our best release to date. The singles that we released from it have been spinning regularly on commercial radio, and our video for Nemesis has aired on MTVX and many other programs. Over the course of our work in Earth Crisis, we have accomplished so much: from many tours in the U.S., to tours in Europe and Japan, to playing at the Ozz Fest, to performing for 120,000 people in Bogota, Columbia. And every person at every show, and every person that experienced our music, was exposed to our messages of human, animal, and earth liberation and our philosophy about veganism and straight edge. And we hope that we have encouraged some of these people to think about at least one issue from at least one song in a new way. Our home video, which will be released some time this summer from High Roller Studios on Victory Records, will speak to much of this history. We owe a lot to all of you who have supported our efforts throughout our career; and we hope that you can all come and see us one last time. Our last show in the U.S. will be this summer at Hellfest in Syracuse, NY on the weekend of July 6, 7, and 8th. We hope that other bands will continue to forward a positive, peaceful, ethical, and revolutionary way of life as we have tried to do through our music. There is still a war, and we have layed down one weapon so as to pick up another. Each member of Earth Crisis is still involved in music, from industrial projects, to hip hop, to straight up rock. So we are all still involved in this community. We wish all of the new bands the best, and again we thank all of you who have supported us from the bottom of our hearts."
2007
In 2007, the band reunited. On January 27, 2007, Earth Crisis played the Maryland Metal and Hardcore Festival, and played a west coast reunion show on May 5, at the Ventura Theatre. A 10 day tour of Europe was announced shortly after the Ventura show. Earth Crisis headlined the Firestorm Fest from 2/29/08 to 3/23/08 supported by
Terror,
Sworn Enemy,
Shai Hulud,
Down To Nothing and Recon. On the 15th of February, MTV.com quoted vocalist Karl Buechner as having said that Earth Crisis is writing new material. "The best way to describe it is it's a mixture between Destroy the Machines and Breed the Killers". The new album is expected to be released early in 2009.
[3]
2008
On September 10, 2008 it was announced that Earth Crisis had signed a worldwide deal with Century Media. They entered the studio on October 16, 2008 and Tue Madsen was hired to mix the project.
2009
The new CD is entitled "
To The Death" and was released in Europe on April 20, 2009 and later in the US on May 5, 2009.
[4]
In August and September 2009, Earth Crisis will be touring on the American and Europe wide
Hell on Earth Tour [5] [6], alongside
Sworn Enemy,
Neaera,
Waking the Cadaver,
War of Ages,
Thy Will Be Done and
War From a Harlots Mouth.
Members
- Karl Buechner - vocals
- Scott Crouse - guitar
- Ian "Bulldog" Edwards - bass
- Dennis Merrick - drums
- Erick Edwards - guitar
Former members
- Ben Read - guitar (1992 - 1994)
- Kris Wiechmann - live guitar only did not write or record with band (1996 - 1998)
- Michael Riccardi - drums (1992)
- Shane Durgee - lyrics (1992)
Discography
Studio albums
- Destroy the Machines
(LP) (1995, Victory Records)
- Gomorrah's Season Ends
(LP) (1996, Victory Records)
- Breed the Killers
(LP) (1998, Roadrunner Records)
- Slither
(LP) (2000, Victory Records)
- Last of the Sane
(LP) (2001, Victory Records)
- To The Death
(LP) (2009, Century Media)
EP
- All Out War
(EP) (1992, Conviction Records, re-released 1995 on Victory Records)
- Firestorm
(EP) (1993, Victory Records, re-released 1995)
- Forced To Kill
(7") (2009, Seventh Dagger Records)
Live
- The California Takeover
(Live) (1996), Victory Records, split live album with Strife and Snapcase.)
- The Oath That Keeps Me Free
(Live) (1998, Victory Records)
Compilation
- Forever True - 1991-2001
(Compilation) (2006, Victory Records)
References
- http://web.archive.org/web/20071029153856/http://www.earthcrisis.us/
- Ryan J. Downey Earth Crisis Biography. Allmusic. Retrieved November 26 2006.
- Chris Harris & Jon Wiederhorn Warbringer Poised To Become Harbingers Of American Thrash's New Wave; Plus Earth Crisis, Gorath & More News That Rules, In Metal File. MTV.com. Retrieved February 23 2008.
- http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=112569
- http://www.myspace.com/hellonearthtour
- http://www.hellonearthtour.de