Bastard Cröss is a Blackened Thrash / Metal Punk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in late 2021. Their sound blends Black Metal, Thrash, and Punk with horror-movie themes, twin vocal attacks, guitar harmonies, and crusty bass tones. Influences include Slayer, Exodus, Dissection, Anti-Cimex, and early Black/Death Metal and Punk. The band describes their output as ‘metal punk’ with twin vocal attacks and melodic harmonies over dirty riffs.
Or so the press release goes…
Their ‘Bastard Cross’ EP and the split with Black Knife have been reviewed by VM-Underground in the past and now we have the full-length.
The debut full-length has been heavily inspired by horror movies, and draws inspiration from religious history, notably dark and violent documented events.
From opener ‘Parasitic’ a blackened machine gun fire of blistering thrashy guitars is unleashed upon the listener. The coarse rabid shrieks with death growls are all over the album and lift the music to a higher plane.
Songs like ‘Crossripper’ and ‘Lycan Knights’ simply shred everything to pieces. Musically, Bewitched, Terrorhämmer and Nifelheim come also to mind. The very meaty bass and insane drumming only add to the harsh torrid atmosphere on the album. ‘Crossripper’ grows on you the more you play it and this straightforward approach is the strength of the band.
If you like über satanic Black/Speed/Thrash that doesn’t take itself all too seriously or you dig this kind of raw crusty Metal, then you must get yourself a copy! I’m already sold.
