CROSSBONE - Skate x Mosh x Destroy

I remember all sorts of discussions I’ve witnessed about new school versus old school or young versus old. I don’t care that much about the subject, but I can say that without old there would be no new and the new can take things where the old did not succeed. Everything is a circle, as is life: you get born, you’re little, you become an adult, then when old age knocks on the door, bones and cartilages get compressed and you become little again. Or, as in politics and relatively recent history, if you allow this parallel: totalitarian regimes replaced by a consumer market, simply called capitalism. I will not insist on this because this is neither the place nor the time, and the already limited space should belong to the guys from Crossbone.

I came into contact with their music completely accidentally. On the 15th of march this year I first set foot in the Iron City club in Bucharest to see Spinecrusher with Bony, former vocalist of Snapjaw. Opening for Spinecrusher we had Arkham and Crossbone. The first band did not catch my attention. I must mention that the show wasn’t exactly under the best conditions, as there were problems not only with the sound, but also with organisation. Still, Crossbone gained my appreciation with their attitude and energy on stage. Time passed, the band released a few demo songs online that foreshadowed this release, also climbed the stage on the second edition of the Romanian Thrash Metal Fest and secured the title of young hope of the thrash scene in Romania (and, I hope, not only). I’m glad that Traian Popescu & co. believe in this band. The help that the Romanian Thrash Metal Club can give to the metal scene is real, and the local scene needed it to have a healthy growth. Without further ado, here are some details about this material.

Titled Skate x Mosh x Destroy, the record presents a serving of beautiful eighties’ thrash metal! 80s’ Metallica, 80s’ Megadeth, Exodus, D.R.I. with a pinch of Hellhammer. A deadly combination for all fans of the genre. I won’t go into detail about each song here, but I tell you, you’re going to get a lot of speedy riffs, many well thought-out solos, perhaps the best I’ve heard from a metal band of the new wave (regardless of how modern or old-school they are)! And, overall, the band creates great atmosphere.

Given how their debut sounds, the future Crossbone should sound at least as good. This band has something that’s missing from many bands, be they from Romania, the US, UK, Bulgaria, Congo or wherever. It has emotion, it has balls, it has feeling. The sincerity you have when you play your songs with all your heart is priceless. I know it sounds like a Mastercard commercial, but this makes the whole difference. I’m sure they have the potential to grow more, musically, because it would be a shame to have all their work and their talent go to waste. Songs like War Material, Pray for Mercy and Meaningless Existence are in the first line, Kill Me Again and Punished have their moments and are almost as good, but Killing Spree is the band’s "hit song", not by execution but by its message and energy. For now they get a sincere 7.5 from me. I hope in the future to have the opportunity to give them a perfect score for a record.

H. Nota: 7.5