Crusadist is a Chicago-based metal band forged in the fires of death and thrash.
Formed in July of 2017, by founding members Shaun Albro, Aaron Nobles and Kevin Ariel. In February of 2018, Drummer Jason Rak joined the group. After countless auditions and failed attempts to find a second guitarist, they decided to record a 3 song demo to showcase the style and to find the missing piece. The recording took place at Iron Hand Audio in Chicago Illinois and was recorded by Dan Klein. Guitarist Luke Sever agreed to help with the recording and went on to write and record the solos on the demo. Once the demo was finished, it was obvious that the search was over. The lineup had been completed.
Crusadist is:
Shaun Albro ~ Vocalist/Lyricist
Aaron Nobles ~ Guitarist
Luke Sever ~ Guitarist
Kevin Ariel ~ Bass
Jason Rak ~ Drums
Now that everything was falling into place, the band started accepting show offers and began to book shows both locally and regionally. Performing in the surrounding states and opening for national and international acts such as Exmortus, Hatchet, Micawber, The Absence, Depths of Hatred, Kalmah, Vried, Homewrecker, Empyrean Throne, Nile, Terrorizer and Vital Remains. During this time the band continued to write material with plans to record a full-length album.
In March of 2019, Crusadist entered Belle City Sound in Racine Wisconsin to begin recording their debut album “The Unholy Grail” with producer/engineer Chris Djuricic (Origin, Jungle Rot, November’s Doom, Gorgasm, Against The Plagues). Mixing and Mastering duties were then handled by Jeramie Kling ( The Absence, Venom Inc.) and Taylor Nordberg ( The Absence, Soilwork) of Smoke and Mirrors Productions in Spring Hills Florida. The cover art was created by Swedish Artist Par Olofsson (Immolation, Exodus, Unleashed, Aborted, Braindrill, Against The Plagues).
“The Unholy Grail” is set to be released on November 29, 2019 (Black Friday) and will be available on all major digital distributors, as well as in physical format in digipaks. The digipak layout was designed by Ryan Kasparian of Burial Clothing in Eerie Colorado. Preorders will be available on November 1st, 2019, along with the launch of the first single and title track “The Unholy Grail” Lyric Video designed by Genocide Art.
After enduring countless cancelations due to government shutdowns during the scourge of the pandemic, Crusadist kept busy writing music for a follow-up to The Unholy Grail. 2020 was a year of many trials. Their East Coast Tour was canceled, along with several festivals the band was booked to perform at. Crusadist managed to book studio time and record a new single in which they plan to release in the Fall of 2021.
During the Spring of 2020, Crusadist signed a partnership agreement with Extreme Management Group and Senior Manager Greg Shaw. Crusadist will be on tour in September 2021 supporting Inhuman Condition (featuring members of Obituary, Venom Inc., The Absence) along the United States East Coast. TOURANTULA beginning September 4th in Orlando FL and ending Sept 19th in Tampa, FL.
Discography:
2019 – The Unholy Grail (LP)
2018 – Demo
Shared Stage with:
The Absence, Exmortus, Hatchet, Kalmah, Vreid, Homewrecker, Empyrean Throne, Raven, Inanimate Existence, Micawber, Nile, Terrorizer, Vital Remains, Product Of Hate, Depths Of Hatred
Endorsements:
Conquest Sound Cables
