A dying world - A review of the Sacred Reich / Iron Reagan split

Legendary thrash metal band Sacred Reich has released its first new studio recording in more than two decades on this short split with energetic crossover thrash metal group Iron Reagan. The vinyl release is a collector's item limited to only one thousand copies. While the two tracks are great, this release certainly doesn't offer value for money.

Sacred Reich's song might not please to all fans of old date. The song has a strong punk vibe and not much to do with the band's thrash metal roots. It's the kind of song one would rather expect from The Exploited. The lyrics of ''Don't Do It Donnie'' are actually much more interesting than the musicianship. The band gives the middle finger to the current state of politics and particularly speaks out against Donald Trump's shenanigans. There just can't be enough songs that rightfully criticize what's going on in that country these days and Sacred Reich's take is very welcome in my opinion.

Iron Reagan's new song ''They Scream'' is less outstanding lyrically but much better musically. The song starts slowly and menacingly before it evolves into an angry thrash metal track with proud punk roots. The melodic guitar solo is the highlight of the track. It always amazes me how many ideas this band manages to integrate coherently in songs below the two-minute mark.

In the end, this untitled split offers two very good new songs that should please to hardcore punk fans in particular. Play it hard, play it loud, play it proud. The price for purchasing this gem might be somewhat elevated but you should definitely check the two tunes out if you sympathize with punk spirit.

Final rating: 80%