The IVth Crusade
| The IVth Crusade | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 9 November 1992[1] | |||
| Recorded | Sawmills Studio, August 1992 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 53:28 | |||
| Label | Relativity, Earache | |||
| Producer | Colin Richardson and Bolt Thrower | |||
| Bolt Thrower chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 4/10[3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| The Great Metal Discography | 7/10[5] |
| Kerrang! | [6] |
| Metal Storm | 9.3/10[7] |
| Rock Hard | 9/10[8] |
| Select | [9] |
The IVth Crusade is the fourth studio album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower.
Background and recording
It was recorded at Sawmill Studios in August 1992 and produced by Bolt Thrower and Colin Richardson. The album was engineered by John Cornfield and mixed at Fon studios. It was also engineered by Alan Fisch and Steve Harris. It was released through Earache Records as Mosh 70 in 1992. The album title comes from the Fourth Crusade and the capturing of Constantinople.
Artwork
The cover artwork is a painting from Eugène Delacroix, showing "The Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople".
Music
For this album Bolt Thrower slowed down considerably compared to War Master, focusing more on playing heavy riffs and a thick sound. The album features a more death/doom metal-driven style, and which was influenced by doom metal bands including Candlemass and Pentagram. Particularly, this style is apparent in songs like "This Time It's War" or "As the World Burns". Joe DiVita of Loudwire wrote: "The longest album of Bolt Thrower’s career pushed their songwriting limitations which were in delightfully narrow parameters, operating on formula over innovation. The English vets entertained slower riffs, scraping their knuckles on the pavement as grooves swung lower for longer."[10]
"Embers" opens and ends as "Cenotaph" did on the previous album War Master, and leads into "Powder Burns" on Mercenary.
Critical reception
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote gave the album three stars out of five, saying: "The IVth Crusade ranks as one of Bolt Thrower's more powerful and consistent albums, raging with venom and unrestrained fury. It's a record that proves why the group was one of the leaders of the underground metal scene of the late '80s and early '90s. Few other groups matched Bolt Thrower in terms of pummeling, harsh sonic brutality, even if they occasionally lacked the skills to craft full-fledged songs and riffs."[11]
Track listing
All songs written by Bolt Thrower.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The IVth Crusade" | 4:59 |
| 2. | "Icon" | 4:10 |
| 3. | "Embers" | 5:18 |
| 4. | "Where Next to Conquer" | 3:50 |
| 5. | "As the World Burns" | 5:25 |
| 6. | "This Time It's War" | 5:51 |
| 7. | "Ritual" | 4:29 |
| 8. | "Spearhead" | 6:47 |
| 9. | "Celestial Sanctuary" | 4:37 |
| 10. | "Dying Creed" | 4:17 |
| 11. | "Through the Ages (Outro)" | 3:45 |
| Total length: | 53:28 | |
Personnel
- Bolt Thrower
- Karl Willetts – vocals
- Gavin Ward – guitars
- Barry Thomson – guitars
- Jo Bench – bass
- Andrew Whale – drums
- Production
- Eugène Delacroix – cover art
- Paul McHale – design
- John Cornfield – engineering
- Alan Fisch – mixing
- Steve Harris – mixing
- Colin Richardson – producer, recording
References
- ^ https://metallipromo.com/images/bolt/19921109.jpg
- ^ The IVth Crusade review allmusic.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2011.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). "Bolt Thrower". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE Inc. p. 649. ISBN 0-333-74134-X.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (1998). "Bolt Thrower". The Great Metal Discography. Canongate. pp. 48–49. ISBN 0862417279 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Gitter, Mike (7 November 1992). "Rekordz". Kerrang!. No. 417. EMAP. p. 17.
- ^ Killjoy, Troy (25 April 2012). "Bolt Thrower - The IVth Crusade review". Metal Storm. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
- ^ Albrecht, Frank (19 November 1992). "The IVth Crusade". Rock Hard (in German). Retrieved 16 December 2023. (subscription required)
- ^ Clarke, Jeremy (January 1993). "Soundbites". Select. EMAP. p. 72.
- ^ DiVita, Joe DiVitaJoe (7 November 2017). "15 Sick Death Metal Albums That Turned 25 in 2017". Loudwire. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
- ^ The IVth Crusade - Bolt Thrower | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 5 August 2025
