Iron Reagan – Crossover Ministry (Review)

Iron Reagan are a crossover band from the US. This is their third album.

Made up of current and ex-members of bands such as Municipal Waste, Cannabis Corpse, Mammoth Grinder, Darkest Hour and Deathcrown, Crossover Ministry is 18 tracks spread across 29 minutes of riotous metallic hardcore thrash.

Iron Reagan specialise in crossover punk/thrash – short, aggressive songs that marry fast riffs with pit-friendly groove.

As the follow up to 2014’s The Tyranny of Will, Crossover Ministry delivers the very best of the crossover style. I frequently find that the majority of bands that merge hardcore and thrash would be better off sticking to either one or the other, but when you find a band doing it right like Iron Reagan do, then the results can be quite electrifying.

One of the things I like about Iron Reagan is how much energy they have in their music. Short, sweet and sharp, the tracks on Crossover Ministry are all written and played by people who know this kind of style inside out and can really do the material justice.

Crossover Ministry features songs that are typically a little longer overall than those of past Iron Reagan outings. This has allowed them the space to explore their thrash side a bit more, and I’d probably say that overall Crossover Ministry leans a bit more to this side of the crossover equation than previous releases.

The tracks have plenty of hooks for the listener to get caught on, and there are a multitude of good riffs and solos to be had.

The songs are good, the attitude is brazen and the entire package is very well done.

Highly recommended.