...hope prevails - 2001
...hope prevails was mostly written in 2000 and recorded in the spring of 2001, while most of the band was living in the Harrisburg, PA area. The Crutch line-up for the recording included Alex Kenis (guitars), Donny Swigart (guitars), Keith Isenberg (bass), Travis Turner (drums), and Joel Thorpe (vocals). Tracks from the ...hope prevails album have been staple material in the Crutch/Aletheian live performances.
Crutch's cover of "Breathing Murder" by Living Sacrifice had been previously recorded in 2000 by Marshall at Stress Free Studios in Mechanicsburg, PA. Due to time, budget, and previous experience, the ...hope prevails sessions were also recorded at Stress Free Studios. This was a small, home studio run by a tech with no previous death metal recording experience. The sessions were very quick, but laid-back and fun, and captured the spirit of the music at the time. There was no budget, so recording costs were kept as low as possible.
...hope prevails was officially completed in June 2001, and was hand copied on a cd burner with color copy sleeves for a DIY limited release at Cornerstone 2001. Crutch played several generator shows in the dirt, and sold these DIY release copies out of the back of their truck, and their campsite. The new album and high intensity live shows helped create a buzz for the band, and one of the campsite shows at cornerstone even featured Bruce from Living Sacrifice on vocals for the 'Breathing Murder' cover.
Later in 2001, Mike from Burning Records (and also the band Vessel) offered to do a limited release of ...hope prevails. The album came out in early 2002, and Crutch again supported the album at Cornerstone 2002, playing many shows, the most noteworthy of which was the label showcase on the Decapolis stage. The next day, Travis Turner informed the band that he would need to step-down as drummer in order to focus on this family, who were expecting twins. This moment would ultimately develop into the end of Crutch and the beginning of Aletheian.
Due to the lack of budget and very quick recording sessions, the guitar sounds on ...hope prevails did not live up to the original vision for the album. In early 2004, the ...hope prevails album was partially re-recorded, re-mixed, and re-mastered by Alex and Insomnia Studios. The album artwork was revised, and an updated version of ...hope prevails was re-released on Hope Prevails Productions, featuring the updated band name "now known as ALETHEIAN". |
