UMUR "Crossover Ministry" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US crossover thrash metal act Iron Reagan. The album was released through Relapse Records in February 2017. It´s the successor to "The Tyranny of Will" from 2014. There have been no lineup changes on "Crossover Ministry" since the predecessor. Iron Reagan was formed in 2012 as a side-project by members of Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour and released their debut full-length studio album "Worse than Dead" in 2013.

Stylistically the material on the 18 track, 28:48 minutes long album more or less continues the crossover thrash metal style of the predecessor. The tracks balance the hardcore punk side of the band´s sound with the thrash metal side, but that´s no different from the musical style on the previous releases. The tracks are generally short, to the point, aggressive songs with politically motivated lyrics about society, political corruption, and violence, and Iron Reagan are generally a pretty angry bunch, pissed about the state of the world. The musicianship is overall strong and lead vocalist Tony Foresta has a suiting raw and aggressive delivery.

The material is well written for the style, but nothing out of the ordinary, and a more personal sound would have elevated the album to a higher level. The tracks are also slightly one-dimensional in nature, and it´s a blast when Mike Muir from Suicidal Tendencies suddenly appears on "Megachurch" as a guest vocalist, because it adds a bit of variation to the album. Overall "Crossover Ministry" is pretty entertaining while it plays, but soon forgotten after it is finished. So upon conclusion it´s a well produced, well played, and relatively well written album, but it´s also pretty generic and even though it´s only 28:48 minutes long, the album actually feels longer, and that´s seldom a good sign. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "The Tyranny of Will" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US crossover act Iron Reagan. The album was released through Relapse Records in September 2014. Iron Reagan was formed in 2012 as a side-project by members of Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour. They released their debut full-length studio album "Worse Than Dead" in 2013.

The music on "The Tyranny of Will" is crossover, which in many ways sounds similar to frontman Tony Foresta´s main act Municipal Waste. The music on "The Tyranny of Will" is generally less thrashy and more hardcore oriented than what is usual for Municipal Waste but it´s impossible not to make comparisons with Tony Foresta fronting both acts, and when both acts play a style which is relatively similar. The lyrics are a bit more social/political issues themed than the more kitchy B-Horror movie lyrics of Municipal Waste, but other than that I´d say fans of Municipal Waste should have a party with "The Tyranny of Will".

Needless to say that featuring 25 tracks and at a full playing time of 32:50 minutes, "The Tyranny of Will" features very short tracks. The longest being the 4:01 minutes long "Four More Years" and the shortest being the 0:11 minutes long "Glocking Out". Most tracks are between 1 and 2 minutes in length. It´s effective and hard hitting material. Lots of raw energy, pounding fast rhythms, hardcore punk riffs with the occassional more thrashy touch, and Tony Foresta´s savage and aggressive vocals in front.

The material is generally well written but unfortunately also a bit one-dimensional. It helps with repeated listens, but there are ultimately too many tracks which don´t stand out. Some of the exceptions and standout tracks are "Miserable Failure" (which the band has made a video for), and "Consensual Harassment" (because it features female guest vocals by Luna Duran). The rest of the material is of a good quality too and nothing is as such sub par, but as mentioned the tracks generally sound too much the same.

"The Tyranny of Will" features a powerful and clear sound production, which suits the music well. A bit more grit could probably have given the music more hardcore credibility, but it´s hard to argue against a well sounding production like this one. So while Iron Reagan certainly doesn´t invent the wheel here, "The Tyranny of Will" is still a very effective and energetic crossover album and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.