While the British are known to begin the New Wave of Heavy Metal Bands in the early 70s, the United States is known for the rise of thrash metal in the late 70s early 80s. Started by Black Sabbath in 1969, metal music spread and evolved like wildfire; it’s growing at an alarming rate every single day and will not be stopped. Genres, like thrash metal, death metal, heavy metal, and progressive, which were distinct once, are now being fused by new bands every single day, taking the metal music to the next stage. The evolution of metal music in the last forty years is noteworthy. One of the reasons for the same is that it offers no limitation or restriction.
One of the bands that have recently come out with a fusion of thrash metal and hardcore punk is Iron Reagan from Richmond, Virginia from the United States of America. The band has released two albums, ‘Worse Than Dead’ and The ‘Tyranny of Will’, till date and both the albums have gone well with both critics and fans. 2017 for Iron Reagan will begin with their third album, ‘Crossover Ministry’. The band is known for composing energy-packed songs that are short and fast-paced. Standing a little short of 30 minutes, the album consists of in-your-face thrash metal. The shortest track on the album is twelve seconds long while the longest is only two-minutes-and-forty-one-seconds long.
‘Crossover Ministry’ is the small but effective dose of thrash metal fused with hardcore punk. Most of the songs are catchy and make you sing along with them just after playing once or twice. One can expect what sort of album it is going to be just by having one look at the cover. It depicts a skeleton figure lolling out its serpent tongue, dressed in black and red robes holding a cross in each hand, both of them pointy at one end.
The album begins with “A Dying World” and it does not waste a single second to bring out the energy that Iron Reagan is known for. Filled with double bass and shredding, the song ends before you know it. The consistency in the album is its energy and it can be enjoyed throughout the album. From start to end, the album keeps you headbanging with its shredding, guitar solos, vocals, bass, and drums.
Ryan Parrish on drums is worth listening to on the album as, if not the whole album, the drums on the album are marvelous and one cannot deny the simplicity with which he plays. This simplicity in playing this music comes with hard work and Ryan has done a commendable job with it. Along with the drums, Tony Foresta has been his best in terms of vocals, and these two are the best part of the album.
The production on the album is meticulous and the introduction of “Dead With My Friends”, which is supposed to be horror, comes out so well and vivid in ears and that it’s hard to not hit repeat on it, although the song picks up it pace quick and Tony Foresta shines again. The mastering of the album is another noteworthy aspect of the album. The album sounds like it’s playing in your head and almost renders the earphones useless. ‘Crossover Ministry’ is twenty-eight minutes of pure, raw thrash metal.