Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade (1992)

Hard to imagine that this record is nearly 28 years old.  Bolt Thrower never really broke any moulds or pushed any boundaries during their time but the level of consistency they exhibited for 30 years is impressive enough an accolade.  More than ever on this record, the band find the required gear and cleverly drop up and down through the gear box as necessary.  At times this makes for predictable yet never monotonous structures but on other occasions shows subtle variation to the pace of tracks.  Embers is a great example of this starting off more upbeat before slowing down just enough to offer a variation in structure before going back the more full on riffage to end the track.

The trademark Bolt Thrower sound is all over tracks such as Where Next To Conquer with its frenzied stabs of melodic edged riffs and relentless drumming courtesy of Andy Whale.  The band sound cohesive and complete throughout the whole record though, like a well oil machine with all the component parts working in perfect synergy.  The power of the sound is what stays with you though, whether it is those riffs and drums or the rumble of Bench's bass, Willetts has a plethora of support for his throaty and guttural orations.

One of the many things I love about Bolt Thrower is the way the sound always appear charging and driving forwards on more or less all of their tracks and this is again present on The IVth Crusade.  Whilst by no means the best record that the band ever produced, their fourth full length release showed a mature band who had thoroughly earned their props by this stage and could effortlessly bash out top notch death metal with a consistency that only started to wane after this release.