Iron Reagan
Worse Than Dead
Magic Bullet Records/A389 Records
Street: 03.19
Iron Reagan = Municipal Waste + Nuclear Assault + Cro-Mags
Iron Reagan will initially be recognized for its membership, which counts two members of Municipal Waste and two members of Darkest Hour in its ranks, but this should be eclipsed by their music. Iron Reagan’s debut summons 19 tracks of ‘80s style crossover thrash that covers significantly more substantial lyrical ground than Municipal Waste and maintains the brevity and machine gun assault of the best of hardcore. Particular standouts include “The Debt Collector” about the fakakta medical system in the U.S., and “I Predict the Death of Harold Camping,” which skewers the Christian parishioner with all things doomsday. No song overstays its welcome, with tempo changes, well timed solos, and gang vocals preventing monotony from setting in. Worse Than Dead is a worthy addition to the halls of crossover. –Peter Fryer