Iron Reagan – Tyranny of Will
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Record Label: Relapse Records
Municipal Waste has been one of my favorite bands for a few years running now so you can only imagine my disappointment when they announced that they would be taking a break to pursue other projects. While lead guitarist Ryan Waste fronted his classic metal trio bat, Muni Waste frontman Tony Foresta and bassist Land Phil announced that they would be unleashing a new band called Iron Reagan. The band features Foresta on vocals, Phil on guitar, former Darkest Hour drummer Ryan Parrish, ex-Seasick guitarist Mark Bronzino and Hellbear bassist Rob Skotis. What did all this mean to me? Absolutely nothing since I’d never heard of any of those bands but just knowing that Foresta was leading this pack was all it took to get me on board.
Iron Reagan released their 2nd full length album this year and this album boasted an incredibly tight and refined classic skate thrash sound and at 33 minutes and 25 songs long, The Tyranny of Will is a healthy dose of thrash metal chock full of classic Bay Area screaming and guitar solos that will not just melt your face but own your lame ass. The title track opens like a kick in the nuts and before you can even catch your breath here comes “Close to Toast” which has to be one of the greatest thrash songs of the last 20 fucking years.
“Miserable Failure” is another classic piece that is so fucking infectious that if you’re not nodding your head and grinning like you just put a ketchup pack under someone’s car tires you need some serious fucking therapy. Not only is this a great fucking song but they did, without a doubt, the best fucking video of 2014 for this song. Song for song, The Tyranny of Will is non-stop face fuck of thrash meta. The Tyranny of Will is the kind of album that not only reminds us old guys that thrash isn’t dead, it serves as a gateway drug for a younger generation who maybe never knew what it was like to have your ass handed to you by a band like Nuclear Assault.
If you love Municipal Waste, you’ll love Iron Reagan but trust me, there is a way differentiate them. Matter of fact, I love this Iron Reagan album more so than the last couple of Muni Waste albums. If anything, the songwriting just sounds so fucking energized and fresh. Iron Reagan is a very healthy and very welcome break for Municipal Waste that turned out probably the best thrash album of 2014. The Tyranny of Will has me totally looking forward to seeing what else Iron Reagan has in store for us. Iron Reagan are preserving the legacy of a genre of metal that very well could’ve faded into obscurity and for that, I salute them.
For more on Iron Reagan, go to https://www.facebook.com/IRONREAGAN
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