Draugsól - Volaða Land (2017)

Iceland is no longer an underdog in the filthy bottomless pits of Death Metal/Black Metal and hasn't been for a while, despite it's humble population where the sheep outnumber the humans on its treeless windswept land. These cold bastards experience a lot of darkness throughout the winter months and nasally basement bloggers might say this could nurture such a predilection for all things bestial and grim, maybe, maybe not. Icelanders seem to be willing to try everything.

Holding the banners are Mannveira, Svartidauði, Naðra, MisÞyrming, Sinmara, Carpe Noctem but even one man projects upholding the loud, drenched in noise weirdness like AMFJ who has also collaborated with Svartidauði, and it's hard to ignore bands like Muck and The Pink Street Boys to name a few that are pushing the boundaries within their sound, but everyones sound is conducive to pushing the boundaries within their respected pigeon-holed genres.

I digress. Draugsól don't seem to be an exception to the rule, they like their respected cohorts attack their sound with a type of uncontested ferocity that lends a certain sincerity to its bleak and feral nature, similar to their island brothers in New Zealand or the likes of Western Canada within the realms of Bestial Death Metal.

Volaða Land is more of what we have come to expect; A tactfully experimented practice within the black and death metal camp but far enough removed from church burning blast beats and atypical death metal riffs, instead tracks lithely move between sounds with veteran understanding and an almost sentient atmosphere. Volaða Land is one of those albums that can be hard to nail down, but one things for certain, it's forward thinking and executed with a due diligence.

† † †

Draugsól - Volaða Land (Bandcamp)

Iron Reagan - Crossover Ministry (2017)

Crossover Ministry is the name of Iron Reagan's newest album and they are the pope, bishop, high-priest, monk, deacon, low-ranked cleric, the father, the son, and the unholy spirit genuflecting at the altar of Thrash.

In the Church of Crossover we pray to the god of riffdom and high fructose, beer soaked energy and the uniform is cutoff denim everything. If you are looking for a band reinventing the wheel look elsewhere bud, this isn't the nature of the beast and thats okay because what we have here is a high form of emulation that can only come with an astute appreciation for the founding ground of Crossover,  a careful amalgamation of early hardcore and thrash.

I don't care if riffs come in the phantom form of recycled riffs from Nuclear Assault, Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I. or only a couple notes off from a Neil Young played three times as fast. I don't care if I can't even tell I'm not listening to Municipal Waste. Crossover Ministry has done just about everything right; The riffs are tight and do have a sound of their own, the drums have that snare pop that is tuned in that sweet spot you have to like even if the bass drum is maybe a couple decibels too punchy I like it, it works and in the words of Accept the energy is "Balls to the Wall".

It would be unfair to leave out the straight facts that Iron Reagan have meddled with some experimentation to break apart tracks so they don't fall prey to bleeding into each other too much, which can happen… Dead With My Friends opens with a gangly and lurching piano, Fuck The Neighbors is an ode to partying and hating everyone else who gets in your way rife with gang-vocals and pro-boner soundbites of pansy neighbors, Parents of Tomorrow is only 00:05 seconds in length a la Napalm Death and how about Megachurch? Big tune of throwback worship with a hook that is guilty of being tight.

I've said enough, this album holds up and I'm going to spin too much. Bang on!

† † †

Iron Reagan - Crossover Ministry (Bandcamp)