Iron Reagan : " Crossover Ministry"

Cut from a similar mold as D.R.I Richmond's Iron Regan which features members of Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour is an explosive reminder to the 80's when trash metal and hard-core punk shared the same dna. Sometimes this is done in a more metallic manner than others, successfully hooking you into the mosh mania. "Grim Business" finds this formula firing off on all cylinders. There song writing is coiled tight on "Dead With My Friends" and holds more melodic layers than I expected from these guys. When it comes to the 14 second micro songs like "No Sell" I am not counting them for the purpose of this album. They do make up for this outburst with "Condition Evolution" . Then there are the moments that remind me more of something Tankard or M.O.D might have done on "Fuck the Neighbors". Lyrically it's pretty silly, but fun if you are a rowdy skate boarding teenager, and yes, I still remember those days.

While it is short and sweet, "Power of the Skull" is still pretty effective. The title track is pretty mosh inducing, though sometimes the speed almost makes the song feel like it is going to trip over it's self. There is a Slayer like feel to the riff that opens "More War" , this is fitting considering the lyrical content is very similar to the more war driven Slayer songs. It took three plays of "Blatant Violence ' before it just didn't race past my ears. The songs hold more weight when they slow things to a more deliberate pace and really hammer you with it. It sounds like Mike Muir drops to make an appearance on "Megachurch" , the song reminds me of How Will I Laugh Tomorrow" era Suicidal.  "Shame Spiral" might work better than "Dogsnotgods" , but both songs rely more on speed than anything.

I would have like to have heard more done with "Eat Or Be Eaten" as it had more varied sonic energies than most of the more fully formed songs. They lock into a pretty devastating riff on "Twist Your Fate". The world seems to be poised and ready for angry music like this.  This album takes me back to my adolescent years, but is nothing new, however it is a very powerful and refined metal machine and hits hard while having something to say so I'll give it an 8.5.