Iron Reagan / Gatecreeper - "Split"

Let me just start off by saying, Gatecreeper and Iron Reagan as some of my favorite current bands as far as the heavier side of things go.  Iron Reagan first caught my attention in 2013 with their "Worse Than Dead" album.  This album wasn't exactly pretty. and occasionally Iron Reagan seemed a little one dimensional.  But they had a great sound, incorporating everything from Crossover Thrash to Hardcore Punk, and they had the energy and anger down pact.  2014's "The Tyranny of Will" was about 10 minutes longer, but had countless more tracks.  Iron Reagan still had a lot of the energy and anger in the bad.  But it was becoming obvious that the band was a little one dimensional.  Now, in 2017 Iron Reagan returned with "Crossover Ministry", easily their best album to date.  This album was much more in the Thrash direction and overall was MUCH heavier.  Even structurally this album was so much straightforward and focused, as Iron Reagan came through with so many fewer skits and so much more genuinely punishing tunes.  Gatecreeper, on the other hand, blew my mind in 2016. Late in the year, they released their "Sonoran Deprivation" album.  This album quite frankly blew my mind and quickly became one of my favorite metal releases of the year.  While this was a Death Metal album at heart, it was incredibly visual, completely off the rails, and brought in plenty of other genres like Punk.   Now, I'm usually a huge fan of Split EP's between Metal/Punk artists.  And whoa NELLY, these tracks teasing up this EP have been absolutely BRUTAL.  I'm ready to dive headfirst into this one. 

The first 5 tunes here are coming our way via Iron Reagan.  This EP starts off with “Warning”, and I have to say Iron Reagan sound GREAT.  This may not be the heaviest production they’ve worked with, but it sounds awesome.  Let’s chat about this sound, sure the crunchy guitars and out of control rhythms make it known that Iron Reagan still rule Crossover Thrash. But I absolutely LOVE the group vocals here, and the attitude they show that has them still edging towards Punk slowly.  Then we have “Paper Shredder”, which is a wild ride from the opening seconds.  The love the soaring guitar solos, and the out-of-control verses that follow are seriously ridiculous.  But once again, it’s the punchy and anthemic vocals that continue to bring me back.  I mean, we’re dealing with 2-minute long tunes here, so what can you expect.  But I feel like this is such a good medium for Iron Reagan, bringing in the heaviness of Thrash and the attitude of Punk. Not to mention, I love just how abrasive and unforgiving their attitude has become.  Iron Regan continue to sound heavier and more unhinged then ever with “Take the Fall”.  I love just how pummeling this riff is, and how intense these verses are.  Even by Punk/Metal standards, I can’t shake just how urgent this one sounds.  While “Take The Fall” is brutal, it’s also strangely catchy in parts and really sticks with you.  Not to mention, instrumentally I haven’t heard these guys sounding better, period.  Now, as far as the Iron Reagan tunes here go, “Proudly Unaccountable” is easily the least impressive.  You have to remember, these last few tracks have been so forward thinking and totally different, and much more intense than what we’ve heard from Iron Reagan in the past.  But “Proudly Unaccountable” just sounds like a leftover from one of their early albums.  Iron Reagan finish off their contribution with “Burn For This”, which almost has an old school Thrash feel to it.  It’s the sort of track that I really wanted to hear from Iron Reagan, with spit-in-your face vocals and a ridiculous sing-a-long chorus.  Not to mention, I’m seriously into all of the backing vocals they continue to use.  Overall, I feel like this is some of the best tracks I’ve heard from Iron Reagan. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN4BPqhqxu8

Now, let’s chat about Gatecreeper’s contributions to this.  Their set of tracks start off with “Daybreak”, and I have to be honest I really wasn’t expecting to hear such an elongated, drawn out and intense intro.  It’s alright though, with the group bringing in some serious doom elements and that same fantastic, hulking production that I love so much.  “Daybreak” is brutal, but I would have been just as happy with the band booming into a more straightforward tune. “Dead Inside” is up next, and in every way, this is exactly where I want to hear Gatecreeper.  To call this a pummeling tune would be an understatement.  I absolutely love how punishing this is, between the monolithic production and the intense playing.  It’s unforgiving, and I love how dense it all is between Chase Mason’s vocals and these wild guitar solos.  Honestly, I feel like I can’t get enough of this band, and “Dead Inside” is by far one of the best metal tunes I’ve heard all year.  This EP ends off with “War Has Begun”, which once again has a seriously gloomy, doom-centered intro.  But that’s blown right the FUCK out of the water quickly with Gatecreeper’s usual blast of violence and death.  I love just how heavy this one is, with Chase practically screaming out from the depths of hell.  This one is not for the faint of heart, at all, none of Gatecreeper’s music is.  But I seriously can’t get enough of this, and I love just how gigantic and cinematic “War Has Begun” gets by the end of the track.  Honestly, I would love nothing more than to hear a hulking, conceptual album from Gatecreeper.  Until then, this EP rips.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf2vakD8szc

Rating: 8.1/10




Give A Listen To: "Warning", "Take The Fall", "Dead Inside", "War Has Begun".




Genre: Crossover Thrash / Hardcore Punk / Death Metal / Grindcore




Overall Thoughts:  This EP absolutely RIPS in every way.  Yea, it’s 20 minutes.  Yea I sort of wish these two bands would focus more on their own solo albums.  But let’s be real, this EP shows a great progression in both of these acts.  We see Iron Reagan embracing their Punk energy more than ever, and bringing in a slew of group choruses that come off GREAT.  Then we have Gatecreeper, who has clearly been working on building up their atmosphere’s and getting more conceptual by the day.  This EP may be short, but it’s absolutely brutal, and incredibly memorable, and has some of the best tunes either one of these bands have worked with.