''The IVth Crusade'' is the fourth studio album by British death metal band

Bolt Thrower Bolt Thrower were an English death metal band from Coventry. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling b ...

. It was recorded at Sawmill Studios in August 1992 and produced by Bolt Thrower and

Colin Richardson Colin Richardson is a British record producer, mixer and recording engineer. He has worked on over 100 albums and is most frequently associated with heavy metal and its subgenres. Career Some of the bands he has worked for include: * 3 Inch ...

. The album was engineered by

John Cornfield John Richard Cornfield (born 10 December 1958 in Epsom, Surrey) is a British record producer and sound engineer. He has been working from Sawmills Studios in Cornwall since 1982. Discography As sound engineer or sound assistant * The Dukes of S ...

and mixed at Fon studios. It was also engineered by Alan Fisch and Steve Harris. It was released through

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...

as Mosh 70 in 1992. The album title comes from the Fourth Crusade and the capturing of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. The cover artwork is a painting from

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

, showing "The Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople". 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 A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed star polygon, formed from the diagonal line segments of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) regular pentagon. Drawing a circle arou ...

. Particularly, this style is apparent in songs like "This Time It's War" or "As the World Burns". "Embers" opens and ends as "Cenotaph" did on the previous album ''

War Master ''War Master'' is the third album by British death metal band Bolt Thrower. It was recorded at Slaughterhouse studios in September 1990 and produced by Bolt Thrower and Colin Richardson. It was released on Earache Records: Mosh 29 in 1991. W ...

'', and leads into "Powder Burns" on ''

Mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

''.

Track listing

*All songs written by Bolt Thrower

Personnel

;Bolt Thrower *

Karl Willetts Karl Willetts (born 21 September 1966) is an English death metal vocalist, best known as the lead singer of Bolt Thrower and Memoriam. Biography Willetts joined the British death metal band Bolt Thrower in 1988. Before that, he drove the ...

– vocals * Gavin Ward – guitars *

Barry Thomson Barry "Baz" Thomson is an English people, English musician, best known for being the lead and rhythm guitarist for death metal band Bolt Thrower until their disbandment in 2016. He co-founded the band in 1986, and was also the main songwriter o ...

– guitars *

Jo Bench Jo, jo, JO, or J.O. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Jo'' (film), a 1972 French comedy * ''Jo'' (TV series), a French TV series *"Jo", a song by Goldfrapp from ''Tales of Us'' *"Jo", a song by Mr. Oizo from ''Lambs Anger'' * Jo a fictio ...

– bass *

Andrew Whale Bolt Thrower were an English death metal band from Coventry. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling b ...

– drums ;Production *

– cover art * Paul McHale – design * John Cornfield – engineering * Alan Fisch – mixing * Steve Harris – mixing *

– producer, recording

References

1992 albums Bolt Thrower albums Earache Records albums Relativity Records albums Albums produced by Colin Richardson {{1990s-death-metal-album-stub