Crossover the Road

And here is the third part of my Bands I've Discovered trilogy.

I'd been aware of Iron Reagan for a while, but for whatever reason I just hadn't bothered listening to them.

What a mistake.

Iron Reagan are a thrash/crossover supergroup and what's not to like about that? Two members of Municipal Waste turn up and the goods on offer here are not too dissimilar to the stuff of their day jobs to be fair. It's just more material that D.R.I. wish they'd written really (as if D.R.I. could ever be this good, come on).

The name Iron Reagan is apparently a joke and is an amalgamation of Iron Maiden and Ronald Reagan. Yes, I understand that, but I don't see how it's a joke. At least not a funny one.

We'll let their music do the talking then – all two albums of it.

Worse Than Dead was their first release and from the first rib-shaking note it's apparent that the journey will be relentless. Never mind D.R.I. I'm sure Hatebreed wish they'd written some of these riffs. The speed and ferocity of this material at times is astounding. There's no need to tune down to D or even C# as some bands have done in pursuit of the ultimate heaviness (stares at 1990s Sepultura accusingly). The key lies in great riffs and great bass-playing and Iron Reagan have got that down as well as anyone can. I imagine the pit at one of their shows will look like a war zone.

Along with this album kicking serious rectum generally, there are some well-crafted song titles and the award for most metal euphemism for crying goes to Eyes Piss Tears.

Best song: the ultra-fast, 33-second killer, Slightly out of Focus

Second, and to date final, album, The Tyranny of Will, followed in 2014. It's more of the same. Blisteringly fast metal/hardcore hybrid nuggets that make you want to barge into things and mosh until your head falls off. If it's possible this album seems even heavier than the first one. The balance of heaviness with the melody of riffs and solos is demonstrated superbly and the precision-playing is executed in a way that makes you want to shake a fist at those who dismiss this kind of music as “just noise”.

Best song: Miserable Failure

There's also an EP that takes a different direction. Spoiled Identity contains 13 blink-and-you'll-miss-them songs. It is a truly mental offering, but who says 8 and 9 second songs aren't long enough? This is genius in short song writing not seen since early Napalm Death. Crossover at its greatest? Quite possibly.

Just listen to the whole thing, it's only 5 minutes.

Not many bands can boast a catalogue of 56 songs that can be played in under an hour. That in itself is worthy of applause, but a band this good and this heavy deserve a lot more.