Ed McKirdy [Hands Tied, Triple Threat, The Killing Flame] on vocals
Gordo [Double Cross] on drums
Dan Cav [Resurrection, Mouthpiece] on guitar
Hugo Fitzgerald [On the Rise] on bass

http://www.myspace.com/skullcrusherapocalypse

Skull Crusher is an attempt by obsessed fans of hard music to capture that elusive gray where hardcore, metal, and rock morph into one relentless wall of sound where everything seems somewhat classic and familiar, yet simultaneously fresh and dynamic. The backbone is classic New York Hardcore, but with the nods to vintage thrash metal and sinister, overdriven hard rock. In a word: Power.

  The story goes like this. Ed McKirdy and longtime friend Brian "Gordo" Jordan had been jamming for a few years. Knowledgeable fans of practically every sub-genre of "rock" music, their early song ideas were as varied as their playlists. But as playing together became more familiar, a style began to surface and was always cutting through other ideas. Drummer Gordo recalls, "To me, what we were coming up with all the time sounded like something that would have been written by bands on Rock Hotel/Profile in 1989 that were also opening up for Danzig on the 'Not Of This World' tour and getting solid reviews in Puszone. It was something that could have been blasting at ramp jams but also blaring on the Walkmans of every dude dead-lifting 550 pounds in a New York City basement gym. The sound we locked into was natural - and it sounded unique and authentic." 

  Obsessive by nature and galvanized with inspiration, the two got down to business, crafting four intense and challenging songs, often note by note. Having grown up accustomed to fast blast sub-minute hardcore songs, the two were now building songs that were clocking in at a minimum of three and a half minutes and testing their stamina. No stranger to hard music, McKirdy explains, "I wouldn't call it complexity as much as I'd call it thoroughness. This style just seems to demand completeness for each and every song. Can we put in a fourth good mosh part here? Are there enough good solos and leads there?  Do we have enough tempo changes?  We wanted to put everything we could into each of these songs."

  While this would be Gordo's first significant project on drums, the story was different for McKirdy.  Having dedicated years of bass and guitar duties in a roster of notable east and west coast hardcore acts. McKirdy wasn't only plotting riffs and song structures for this new project, but vocals and lyrics as well.  "I had a lifetime of things I needed to get loud about, and playing bass or guitar weren't exactly letting me do it, at least not completely. I didn't want to sing in a band—I needed to sing in a band."  Regardless of how much of a tag-team effort writing the music was, it was clear that McKirdy was singing first and foremost. 

  Translating the song ideas into a properly recorded product wasn't dumb luck. In an age of every heavy record seemingly sounding generically digital, Skull Crusher needed to find someone who knew the classics and how to create a recording that sounded gigantic yet live. Watercourse Studios provided the gear and engineering to capture what would likely have been lost in most other studios. McKirdy:  "The actual Watercourse recording/mix and West West Side mastering was so critical.  We refused to just record to record and mix to mix. It had to sound perfect - big and heavy and different from the modern hardcore recording.  It had to sound - what's the word I'm looking for... insane."  They got it. 

  With the "Blinded By Illusion" EP recorded with a crushing delivery, it was time to create a line up to properly present the songs live. This process proved to be never-ending, with no weak links considered for the vacancies. In time, Skull Crusher finally had a complete line-up. New Jersey/New York Hardcore scene veteran Dan Cav was not only a longtime friend of both he came with an endless playing resume and was perfect fit for guitar. Extremely well versed in everything influential to Skull Crusher, Dan Cav's knowledge and skills were off the charts. Hugo Fitzgerald showed up to practice with his bass having hardly ever heard the songs, and yet instinctively knew the score and how to lead - the low end was a lock. Skull Crusher had their line-up.

  The Blinded By Illusion LP is only a taste of what is to develop.  Already hungry to write more material as well as deliver their sound and energy live, Skull Crusher is perhaps one of the best examples of how boundaries can continue to be pushed and previous inspirations can be perfected within the realm of aggressive music. No question - others have already done it. But the list of heavy-hitters is relatively short and exclusive.  The underlying structures and ideas to this formula aren't anything mind boggling...it's basic rock-based music, after all.  But sometimes even the most simple sounds, when played by the right people through the right gear, can be devastating.