Although I just got into these guys, Crime Desire has posthumously become one of my favorite hardcore bands of the past decade. The band broke up recently, but left a stack of killer records in their wake that are just waiting to be discovered by those of you into quirky, dark hardcore. The In Lucifer's Grip 7" is a perfect introduction to this San Diego bands brand of blistering death rock obsessed hardcore; five songs of shredding, caustic punk composed of vicious stripped-down riffs, evil lyrics that reference LaVeyan satanism, and some nods to classic US goth rock, which is not as prominent here as it is on their later releases, but you can still hear it brooding underneath the demented speedbursts. The band tears through these short, somewhat angular songs with a rabid frenzy, with loads of wailing metal solos and crazed drumming; the vocals are especially noteworthy, singer Colin Tappe's howling high-pitched shrieks giving this a manic edge. The song "St. De Sade" is a raging ode to lust and control, and the propulsive "Submissive I.D." is where we get to hear that aforementioned death rock influence, vaguely hinting at the sound of later TSOL or Christian Death. The rest of this Ep moves at mach five speed though, tearing through the dark, malevolent thrash in short order. Recommended.