Fronted by the ever charismatic Karyn Crisis, Crisis took the underground metal world by storm with their second release, Deathshead Extermination, an intensely heavy modern semi-thrash album (think early Machine Head, but less thrashy and more diverse). Karyn's vocals are quite unique, as her voice constantly alternates between graceful melodies, assorted squeals, tortured shrieking, and full-on death metal stylings. (shades of another excellent frontwoman, Dawn Crosby of Fear Of God). The followup, The Hollowing, proved to be even heavier, though arguably a tad less varied in its approach.
Though they have toured frequently, in general Crisis has kept a rather low profile since The Hollowing's release in 1997. In late 2001, they abruptly decided to change name to Skullsick Nation (according to a news source, this was done because they "have become a completely different band"). But in 2002, they reversed themselves by declaring that the name Crisis was back -- at this time, no reason for the second name switch has been given. Apparently they are finally dedicating major time towards a new album.