Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
We all grew up in the same local metal scene and have been friends for many years. During some downtime and restructuring of another project I was involved with at the time, I spoke with Levin and Aaron about putting a new band together. Jason had jammed with us in another project a few years prior and knew we had something new brewing, so he stepped up and filled the void on the drums. Lastly, Luke joined us when we hit the studio to record a demo to showcase our music and hopefully find the missing member. After recording the leads for the demo, we knew the battalion was complete. We went on to play several shows both locally and regionally until we hit the studio March 2019 to record the debut album “The Unholy Grail”. An East Coast Tour was booked for March 2020 and was shutdown due to the pandemic. During the blackout period we continued to write for the next album and jumped onto an East Coast Tour supporting Inhuman Condition! Plans for the next album coming early 2022!

How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
Many of our fans have described us as Blackened Death Thrash. I think we all agree that it is fitting for us. We have a wide range of influences. If we had to pin it down to reflect a similarity between us and our influences, I’d have to say Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, Dismember, Suffocation, At The Gates, Death.

Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Musically, we have a lot of elements that are sure to appeal to multitude of Metalheads. Jeramie Kling and Taylor Nordberg did an amazing job on our album The Unholy Grail. They were the ones who executed the mixing and mastering production on the album, so you know it’s going to sound powerful! Our Merch is covered with some awesome art, made by some killer artists from several countries around the globe. If you’re interested in anything medieval or undead, Crusadist has you covered. With all those things said, in the end, buying Merch or albums, digital downloads or streaming our music is all helpful to the sustainability and longevity of the band and is always very much appreciated. 

What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
Our first official release was our 2018 Demo, which was 3 songs. We released it in July of 2018 at our first show opening up for The Summer of Steel Tour with Exmortus, The Absence, Hatcher and Micawber in Joliet, IL at The Forge. We released our first album “The Unholy Grail” on Black Friday November 29th 2019. We teamed up with Clawhammer PR for a promotional campaign and we were very excited to see the responses. We had several great reviews and even got on some outlets Best albums of 2019 list! Fans have really embraced the album and we couldn’t be happier!

Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
We are currently on Tour with Inhuman Condition and trekking along United States East Coast. We have plans for many more shows in the works both locally (Chicagoland area) and regionally. 

What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
I feel that the style Crusadist expresses in the music and visual imagery, as well as live performances, brings something for fans of many facets in the metal genre, spanning a wide range of flavors. We aim to inspire the fighting spirit in us all. Everyone goes through battles in this life, and sometimes you need to dig deep and summon the strength to smash your oppressors, topple the obstacles and stand true in the face of adversity. Our albums are conceptual in the sense that we have created a fantastical story as a parable to real life emotions. Each song is a different chapter in an ongoing story that is unfolding each day. 

What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
We are going to be releasing a new single along with a video hopefully by the end of 2021. We are also planning to record our next album in March of 2022. The 2nd album is a continuation of The Unholy Grail and picks up where it left off. During that time we will be actively performing live. 

Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
You can find us on Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, bandcamp and most other streaming/digital services out there. We do have physical copies as well which can be ordered on bandcamp. 
We encourage everyone to visit our website and our other social networks.
crusadist.com
Crusadist.bandcamp.com
Storefrontier.com/crusadist 
Instagram.com/crusadist_metal
Facebook.com/theunholygrail
YouTube.com/crusadist 

September 2021