Thrash metal band Crusaders rips through the music scene with their debut album, Iron Vengeance: The Crusader's Fury which was released on October 24, 2025. Filled with excellent guitar work, great drumming, and killer vocals, this new album has it all. It also contains a lot of fantasy elements, which add an extra layer of depth to the album. At first the album didn't do a lot for me; I had to get adjusted to this style of metal again. The thrash metal sensibilities with the barest hint of power metal and power cords, which is something that I'm not normally a huge fan of. But as I continued listening to the album unfold, I got swept away in the groovy rhythms put forth with the instrumentation, and Jamie Paterson's soaring vocals. I was very much so reminded of Lord of the Rings while I was listening to this album, more specifically with the song Rohan. That track begins with softly strummed guitar cords before shattering the silence with loud, screaming guitars, frenetic drums, and vocals which made me feel like I was riding to album on a horse against an encroaching army. When Jamie says, "Warriors of Rohan/march on Helm's Deep" Lord of the Rings automatically crossed my mind.

Cadia, the forth track on the album, is a standout for me. I like how quick the song is. The breathless drumming and the guitar tones on this thing are absolutely amazing. I also enjoy how quick the vocals are as well. It reminded me of classic thrash metal from the 70s and 80s, which is what a lot of this record is inspired by. The guitar solo sweeps you away in a cacophony of sound that keeps you drawn into the song.Terminate is another standout track on the record starting out with squealing guitars in an epic solo before the quick paced vocals kick on. This song doesn't give the listen any time to breathe; you are just in it. The vocals on this things are great to. Jamie uses some cool vocal techniques on this song to make his voice a little bit more unique than some of his vocals on the album are. Spartacus seemingly blends thrash metal with Roman history, a song that seems to be about the gladiator Spartacus. It takes the form of a thrash metal song but again power cords also drive the song forward, as do the vocal performance all the way around. I love how this album has an interesting way of telling its story with concept driven storytelling that I really appreciate. It's something you don't seem as much lately.

Overall, the album is good. Screaming guitars, soaring vocals, and concept driven storytelling work to create an album that's as much part of the present as it is embedded in the past.