The Wrath Of Sanity

It's not so much the causes that Earth Crisis espouse that make them so beloved and so hated all at the same time. It's the militancy with which the group presents their beliefs. Whether it's penning tunes about burning down meth labs to combat drug dealers or sanctioning the direct (and some would argue criminal) action undertaken by the Animal Liberation Front, Earth Crisis don't do things by half.

“I think people need to remember that we make music; we're not running around doing these things ourselves,” says a friendly and softly-spoken Crouse, who is at pains to point out that the band members themselves don't have extreme or militant personalities. “Sure we support militant action and write songs about groups who are out there fighting for causes we believe in. But we've found that because of this a lot of myths have grown up around the band. We aren't out there slapping beers out of people's hands or giving people who eat chicken legs a hard time,” he laughs.

So what's more important to Earth Crisis – the message or the music? “I think it's a fifty-fifty proposition,” he answers. “Our singer Karl [Buechner] definitely sees his lyrics as a way to spread an agenda. But at the same time we are proud of the music we make and we want people to enjoy listening to the band. Besides, you can't get your message out there if your music is crappy: a lot of bands have found this out the hard way.”

When Earth Crisis began their career in the early '90s they, like many of the causes they supported, were young and full of passion. Now, vegetarianism has gone mainstream, your grandparents are worried about polluting multi-national corporations, and organisations like Sea Shepherd are lionised around the world. So does the band still feel the need to maintain the rage and preach to the unconverted or are they, like the cause they champion, reaching a comfortable middle age?

“Look it's interesting,” ponders Crouse. “When I first found out about things like veganism and animal rights I did want to go out and tell everyone about it. I wanted to scream to the world that, 'What you're doing is wrong!' But as I've got older I think I've realised that you can only get so far berating or criticising people. Now I find the best way is to live by example. Our beliefs are as strong as ever, and we still take a militant view in our songs, but we've all got older and realised that there are smarter ways to go about bringing change.”

This year finds Earth Crisis in a good place. They've just signed with a new label, Candlelight, and are writing a follow-up to 2011's Neutralize The Threat. Crouse updates on the state of play.

“It's still early days but we have nine new songs for the new record. We hope to write about twenty and then pick the best ones to record. Lyrically we're dedicating this album to animal rights – so that theme will run through the whole thing. The songs are coming out really heavy; if you liked Breed The Killers, you'll like this album.”

And what can we expect on the upcoming tour?

“Well we've been looking forward to coming back ever since we last left,” laughs Crouse. “This time around we'll be obviously playing the older material, like Firestorm, that people want to hear, but we'll also be playing a fair bit of the last two records, because for us they're the most fun to play.”

Earth Crisis will be playing the following dates:

Thursday 31 January - The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD
Friday 1 February - Hermann's Bar, Sydney University, Sydney NSW
Saturday 2 February - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Sunday 3 February - Fowler's Live, Adelaide SA