For Those Who Are Crucified was actually produced by a young Steve Evetts, who would go on to work the boards for the likes of The Cure, Senses Fail, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and many more landmark metalcore and pop-punk bands of the 21st century. But back in 1998, Evetts had the musical vocabulary to translate All Out War’s metallic inclinations into the hardcore aesthetic of their live show -- which was still a contentious creative move at the time.
“We were always a misfit in the scene we were playing in,” remembers All Out War vocalist Mike Score. “Metalheads called us a hardcore band and hardcore people called us a metal band. That was pretty much what it was.”
All Out War emerged right in the mid-'90s, a pivotal point for hardcore. Traditional youth crew bands were waning in influence, and metal continued to seep its way into the hardcore lexicon. NYHC no longer meant Bad Brains, but Merauder, Darkside NYC, and Confusion. These were bands incorporating aspects of classic thrash acts like Anthrax and Slayer, but All Out War were pulling from German thrash bands like Kreator and Sodom -- groups that few, if any, other hardcore-adjacent groups were citing at the time.