Cro-Mags

In The Beginning

Written by: PP on 19/12/2020 02:59:11

Cro-Mags, one of the forefathers of crossover thrash, is a name you haven't seen much attributed to recorded output at least recently. Originally founded back in 1981 and forming a considerable partition of the original New York Hardcore scene, they released four albums between 1986 and 1993 including the genre classic "The Age Of Quarrel", inducing a cult following that has stayed with them ever since, despite having released only "Revenge" in 2000. And if you ever wondered what were some of the bands that influenced, say, Municipal Waste, well, Cro-Mags is one of them. Twenty years later, the wait is finally over and the band's sixth album "In The Beginning" is out. Was it worth the wait?

Well, not really to be honest. It's a headbangable piece of rumbling crossover thrash chugging that most of all sounds like Motörhead diverged into hardcore at some point and this is the unreleased experimental album that came out of it. Original rock'n'roll spirit, the no-bullshit attitude, and metallic guitar squeals are all there, alongside founding member Harley Flanagan's relentless yelps and barks on top of the soundscape.

Yes, it's fast and yes, a soundscape like this is timeless enough never to feel outdated or left behind. But on the other hand, little new is brought alive here. The tempo is high, the distortion is loud, and all the echoes of the original thrash metal scene are there complete with arena-size guitar solos and atmospheric bits. But despite having spent months with the record, there isn't much more to say about it. It's a Cro-Mags record that feels painfully average: after a twenty-year wait, is all you really wanted this? A little "by the way, we released an album"? Where's the urgency and tour-de-forcé a record like this is supposed to be? If anything, this feels like one of two things: a cash-grab at an old age, or alternatively, a genuine record where the guys felt: hey man let's record a fucking album shall we, albeit without any afterthought put into, say, songwriting. Aside from the few bright spots like "The Final Test" and "From The Grave", the record is, frankly, boring without being shit.

6

Download: Don't Give In, The Final Test, From The Grave
For the fans of: Warzone, Agnostic Front, D.R.I, Motörhead, Suicidal Tendencies
Listen: Facebook

Release date 19.06.2020
Arising Empire

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