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Iron Angel > Hellish Crossfire > Reviews
Iron Angel - Hellish Crossfire

The definition of German speed metal itself - 99%

DesecratorJ, September 29th, 2017

I don't think this band needs an introduction, at least, for people that decently know about speed and thrash metal. In Germany, and in the old school fan base, Iron Angel is widely considered as one of the best 80s speed metal bands. This is an understandable point of view, because these guys were the shit back then. They had a great presence on the German extreme metal scene until they disappeared in 1987 shortly after the release of their second album called "Winds of War", which was a bit different from what I am reviewing here. In their beginnings, Iron Angel released few demos including the "Power Metal Attack" and "Legions of Evil". These releases were so raw and low-fi quality, in the same way as the demos of Sodom or Tormentor (Kreator) were. They still got a record deal with the new-founded Steamhammer label anyway.

The band released its famous first unholy record "Hellish Crossfire" in 1985, right in the good time for such evil music. Back in that particular time, these guys were called black metal with Sodom and Destruction. Well, that's how it was tagged in the mid-80s. For me personally, this album is flawless, there is just nothing bad to say about it, I easily consider it to be one of the best speed metal records ever. It's actually one of the German bands that I have the most listens of. So what do we get from this album? Ah, pure awesomeness! However, you might notice that most songs featured on "Hellish Crossfire" are new versions or re-recordings of the demo's material. This is great news, mainly because the demos were rather made in poor quality.

The main purpose of the album is the speed, there are no complex song structures or big changes in tempos. They kept it simple and focused on the aggressivity with an evil atmosphere. So the album doesn't begin with any introduction, the first track "The Metallian" gets straight to the point, like most songs on the record actually ... But this one has a great mid-paced guitar riff that climbs till the main killer one we all want starts, and trust me there, you will not be deceived. The chorus is intense as fuck, and the guitars sound so damn good. Within its 10 tracks, the second one, called " Sinner 666" is probably the best example of a killer speed metal song. The vocals of Dirk Schröder are insane, graspy and we can also get some high-pitched screams at times. The fastest and impressive tracks of the album are definitely "The Church of the Lost Souls" and "Heavy Metal Soldiers", they are total blasts, there are very few riffs but let me tell you that those 3 minutes can be a very brutal headbanging experience. Did I mention that every song is catchy as hell? This is especially the case with the classic "Legions of Evil", which features the catchiest chorus on the album.

Even if most tracks are in the same musical vein, there are some varieties in "Black Mass" and "Nightmare". They are the longest songs with a clocking time of over 5 minutes, one has the heaviest riffs and the other has the only melodies present on the whole album. As we have the chance to listen to all these songs in good sound quality now, we have to thank the great production work for that. All instruments are nicely mixed and the drumming sound is pretty insane too. On the lyrics department, the guys of Iron Angel pretty much did the same thing as lots of other bands of the 80s, the evil and satanic concepts are clearly the main subjects. Nothing original you may say, but this was the shit back then and it worked really well. However, they also turned their backs on Satan after this record too, like Destruction did after "Infernal Overkill" for example.

Finally, I must say that this record is an essential masterpiece that all old school speed and thrash metal fans must know. Let's get our facts straight, if you consider yourself as such, and that you don't know "Hellish Crossfire", you miss out on something seriously. This is literally a genre defining album and as soon as I think about speed metal, this band comes to mind. Even if they are not as known as they deserve to today, it's still worthy of being part of the best releases of Germany.

Favourite tracks :

Black Mass
Heavy Metal Soldiers
The Church of the Lost Souls
The Metallian
Wife of the Devil

The cradle of German black thrash - 96%

Felix 1666, April 10th, 2015

Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and it is therefore no wonder that it has a lot to offer. This also applied to the development of the German metal scene during the early eighties of the last millennium. To be specific, the cradle of German black thrash stood in Hamburg. The child in this cradle was called Iron Angel. Its face looked a bit strange (the cover artwork), but it combined roughness with technical competence in an almost perfect way. Its musical talent was recognized at an early stage so that already its first vinyl sounded fantastic. Of course, there were pure thrash bands like Destruction or Living Death as well as black metal squadrons such as Poison or the early Sodom. Nevertheless, Iron Angel was (at least, as far as I know) the first group which offered thrash metal with a very dark aura. The thrashy music and the evil atmosphere were of equal importance. As a result, it was difficult to categorize the approach of the guys from Hamburg, because the term "black thrash" had not yet been invented. But be that as it may, one thing is for sure: Iron Angel enriched the emerging German scene in an impressive manner.

The majority of the songs came straight to the point. Already the opener progressed quickly. In the beginning, its riffs were slightly bulky. But after a break, the song turned into a powerful and sinister headbanger. The deep vocals of Dirk Schröder, in particular during the chorus, added the right amount of blackness. Elongated guitar tones announced the next highlight. The fast-paced "Sinner 666" exhibited all the qualities of a perfect black thrash track, inter alia catchy guitar lines, malevolent vocals and an unholy atmosphere. By the way, the band proved that you do not need keyboards in order to generate this atmospheric density. But Iron Angel did not only focus on straightforward tracks. "Black Mass" convinced with varied riffs, a mid-tempo verse and a menacing chorus. These songs defined the musical range of the album and the remaining tunes commuted between the afore-described songs. Only "Nightmare" surprised with a slightly melodic beginning, but this was just a kind of deception. The song transformed quickly into a dark and heavy mid-tempo thrasher. Due to its very gloomy aura, it lived up to its name.

Admittedly, Iron Angel did not shine with a lot of surprising breaks. Furthermore, tempo variations were relatively few and far between. But this is just an information for those of you who seek reasons in order to dislike this work. Everybody else can rest assured that the riffing itself was original and powerful so that it was strong enough to make the songs enjoyable. Only "Wife of the Devil" marched to a different drummer due to its very simple construction and its strange lyrics ("she´s the devil´s wife / he fucks her every night" - honestly, I do not want to know the technical details.)

The major advantage of the production was constituted by the intense and dense guitar sound. But the whole mix did not show any signs of weakness. The drums were heavy, in particular the snare sounded naturally. Finally, the vocals did not lack of vehemence. Their subliminal malignancy was omnipresent and left its mark sustainably. Rarely occurring background vocals increased the dynamic during some of the choruses. It was a pity that Iron Angel followed a more commercial approach on their second album. Nevertheless, killer tracks such as "Legions of Evil" or "Sinner 666" remain unbeatable. The cradle is orphaned and the child did not live for a long time. But the spirit of this album lives on.

No-holds-barred dragway through the conflagration - 88%

autothrall, January 4th, 2011

Though the album had been licensed and released in North America, Hellish Crossfire was one I had a hard time tracking down when I was a youth and getting heavily into the German thrash sound. The best I could do was a tape trading with some of their demos on a blank, but I finally got my hands on the Iron Angel debut a few years after its release, when I was in high school, and needless to say I was very impressed. I had seen the band's name mentioned in a number of articles, interviews, thanks lists, and so forth, and figured them to be some lost messiah of the genre, and while they're not deserving of quite that level of praise, this was a damn fine debut which occupied a curious niche between the more straight up power and speed metal sounds of Avenger (pre-Rage), Running Wild, Accept and Grave Digger, and the more aggressive thrashing pioneers Metallica, Artillery and Destruction.

Sound excellent? Well, in execution, it is. "The Metallian" has long been the star of this debut, and the band's career, and you won't get much of an argument from me. The blazing, thick rhythm guitars and the echoing, pinched tone of Dirk Schröder's vocals as he sails into the predictable but unforgettable chorus are impressive, and that riff that comes in directly after the chorus? Wonderful. But that's not the only gem here, and tracks like "Sinner 666", "Hunter in Chains", and "Legions of Evil" all remind me so much of what I loved about early Rage, Grave Digger and Running Wild, that impulsive steel rocking tone dowsed in reverb, sharp hooks digging their way well beneath your skin as they strike veins of blood and silver. "Wife of the Devil", "Heavy Metal Soldier" and "The Church of Lost Souls" all spit forth ruthless German speed and Schröder's delightful, playful torment shifting between nasal mid range to higher, manic shrieking. A few tunes like "Nightmare" do get left behind in the dust, but as a whole, there's a good 35 minutes here of razor bliss.

Hellish Crossfire would unfortunately not share the same fate as Destruction, Rage, Kreator or Sodom, and after one more full-length, which adopted a heavier use of the non-thrash elements, the band would fold, only to reappear through compilations and a brief reunion in the 21st century. It's a shame, because this debut is easily the measure of most German bands' early works, and the potential was through the roof here. I've heard delusional ranting that Dirk's vocals are an obstacle to appreciating the band, but I'm heavily inclined to disagree. Unlike the early Living Death albums (Thorsten Bergmann presiding), Schröder uses his eccentricity as a weapon, a vorpal sword that cuts straight through the riffing to your memory, and I've never once felt annoyed by him. Iron Angel isn't perfect, but if you're a fan of any of the prototypical German thrash or power metal (Helloween, Scanner, Rage), you owe it to yourself to invest in one of the undisputed mid-80s speed metal sleeper hits.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Evil Satanic Metal, '85 Style - 80%

brocashelm, April 3rd, 2009

Here’s another record in the great German tradition that sounded a lot heavier and faster back in the day then it does today. Fact is that while iron Angel were loaded with Satanic imagery and song titles, their music was more in line with the Running Wild/Avenger/Grave Digger school than with the Sodom/Kreator/Destruction one. It’s a great debut from a capable, excited and powerful outfit, but thrashing death it ain’t. Singer Dirk Schroder, who sounds like a deeper and more laid back version of Udo Dirkschneider, lacks the depth and roar necessary for serious metallic evil, but he does a good job nevertheless.

What’s best here are the songs themselves, the amount of strong cuts on hand being pretty damn high for a debut. “Legions Of Evil” is a great, threatening cut with a nice slow refrain, but it’s the fast tunes that have the most punch and drama, especially “The Metallian,” “Sinner 666,” “Wife Of The Devil” (this one come closest to providing serious overkill) and “Rush Of Power.” A capably heavy sound job is also present, again without the sonic blast of underground metal of the day, but worthy all the same.

Cool album, but beware, as their second and final album Winds Of War is one a whole different health plan, offering up drunken German metal of the most trite variety possible. Simply, this album is all you need from Iron Angel, just try not to laugh to hard at the ridiculous and badly rendered cover art. Dumb stuff for sure, man.

Didn't have to be second tier, but hey.... - 82%

Gutterscream, April 25th, 2005
Written based on this version: 1985, 12" vinyl, Steamhammer

It’s easy to forget Iron Angel is part of the eminent German thrash wave that lit up the underground sky like jets exploding in mid-flight. They weren’t embraced like the big three and sit on the same shelf as Grave Digger, Living Death, Running Wild, and even Helloween. While these bands aren’t weak-kneed adolescents, they aren’t really top tier material (with the exception of Helloween, arguably of course), though I know each has battalions of fans that will trek through boiling fens to get to a show.

The debut’s sound is dense like a Cambodian jungle, heavy almost to the point of sounding clogged with Dirk Schroder’s harsh, yet fairly standard snarl bringing up the rear in this Horst Muller production. There are enough fast picked riffs to choke a slaughterhouse, many of which only dabble in change, and while thrash intensity is worn like chainmail where it exists, the music is more of an outrageous simmer locked on one temperature and doesn’t flail with the savagery other thrash acts of that time were able to administer.

With riffs in seething concentration, “The Metallian” is a fine example of the simplicity and relationship of thrash and speed metal – supersonic riffs about four times faster than the drumbeat is all you need to breathe life into these uncomplicated genres that are as parallel to each other as any two genres can get and is why I often don’t bother to proclaim the difference. And because this is such a simple recipe, some bands tend to overuse it, creating a mirror effect in some of their tracks. Unfortunately, Iron Angel has this problem that I indicate with a ***. “Sinner” is just as furious except with a more prominent rhythm and chorus, meanwhile “Black Mass” enters the power metal realm with head held high, frequently slowing down to stirring ‘mosh’ part standards (a term I always abhorred), and expertly breaks up the thrash continuum of the first two tracks. I cannot stress enough how important song placement is on any album. It’s like a kick-off return. Sure, the guy running full steam hugging the foul line undeterred is a sight to adore, but is one speed, one dimension, little variation, and a lot of certainty. See if you blink when the guy is back spinning, stopping, ducking, and swerving down the field like he's dodging bullets; each action is a mystery and the future unknown = more attention-grabbing. The same theory applies to song structures, but that’s another sport. “The Church of the Last Souls” crosses the threshold back to thrash territory, slightly faster now with a structure harking back to the first track***. “Hunter in Chains” is a more traditional number reminiscent of something Oz would write right down to the solos of Peter Wittke and Sven Struven.

“Rush of Power” and “Wife of the Devil” stand in a line with “The Metallian” and “The Church…” like similar statues in a hall of songs, using almost the same riff with a change-up or two***, meanwhile “Legions of Evil” expands convention with a few timing and structure shifts and a chorus remindful of early Running Wild and their backing vocal habit they used often. The lengthier “Nightmare” uses open, one-stroke riffs for the first and only time, multiple rhythms are fairly widespread, and sets up “Heavy-Metal-Soldiers”, the quickest offering by a small margin and again builds on the same thrash foundation***.

I find it funny the blatant similarity in at least five of these tracks is overlooked by many. It was probably the first thrash riff to roll off someone’s guitar and is as basic as they come. Applied in moderation, it’s a monster tool of the style and has been a foundation for many genres. Problem is Iron Angel rely on it, and the lp suffers. Sure, the album's not on the basement floor of thrash lps by a long shot, but more rhythmic variation could have catapulted this to a place more grand than the second stage.

One of the first thrash bands I ever heard... - 98%

VibrationsOfDoom, September 6th, 2004

The first four metal bands I ever heard in my entire life were Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, Venom, and this band, Iron Angel. I truly believe it was "Hellish Crossfire" that branded me for life. I recently revisited this album again (I have worn through two cassette copies of this before having the CD) to make sure my "score" would be relevant even today...

And of course, this album has almost no flaws. 'The Metallian' starts things off with some pounding drumwork, which is a highlight throughout the album. The vocals of one Dirk Schroeder are THE most unique in ANY genre of metal. His delivery is a bit hard to describe, though thankfully I had the good sense to allow you to listen to the album IN ITS ENTIRETY on the Vibrations of Doom Magazine classic albums section (shameless plug, I know). He has a somewhat growly and raspy voice, but he can definitely hit some high notes. I could compare him to vocalists like Sy Keeler from Onslaught and the mighty Jon Van Doom from Deathwish, but then again he sounds like none of these. MY admiration soars highly for singers that can hit almost a sinister growl but still belt out highs. His were never ear shattering but fit so well! 'Black Mass' had some very sinister vocal chorus work, and the whole affair just oozes evil and dark overtones (regardless of the lyrical content, which is explained briefly in the interview I did with them several years back). 'Hunter In Chains' is another good track that proves the guitar work isn't all evil and heavy, there's some melodic moments to be found (though nowhere NEAR as many as on their follow "Winds Of War") and this tune is quite a metalhead's anthem, as is the great CD closer 'Heavy Metal Soldiers.' One of my alltime favorite is 'Nightmare,' which starts out with beautiful but at the same time powerful and haunting acoustic type riffs, before breaking into some amazing lead solo work. This album is in my top 10 of alltime best 80's metal albums, and I daresay should be in the top 5. My only complaint really is the lyrics to 'Wife Of The Devil,' which is sort of amateurish satan meets sex thing that lyrically seemed out of place with the rest of the stuff they were writing about. Lyrically, well, from what I can gather without ever having even SEEN a lyric sheet, they talk about battles on a grand scale, like 'We pray to fight the devil,' and other things. Very interesting, and only because I've listened to it for so many years now that you HAVE to pick up a few words here and there. There's an amazing guitar solo as well (I won't say which track, you'll have to listen for yourself) that proves lead solos didn't have to be over 100 miles per hour to craft emotion and feeling. Very well done, and I for one am looking for the next full length from Iron Angel that is SAID to be in the vein of their masterpiece.

Special note: The Old Metal Records reissue does feature bonus tracks, which are interesting to hear but PLEASE keep in mind the sound quality is really horrible. I may play around with these someday and see if I can remaster them and bring out a better sound quality.

Well above average speed metal - 80%

UltraBoris, November 12th, 2002

This is a great little album - it just clicks on a lot of levels. For 1984 it's pretty innovative, sounding like the first few Destruction demos/releases, combined with a definite Helloween edge. The rough guitar tone of Destruction is combined with a vocal style that goes between a harsh bark to some pretty nice shrieks, and the riffs are quite solid in construction, memorable, and sufficiently variant as to not cause boredom, while generally predictable enough as to not suffer from the "what the fuck are they doing??" syndrome that plagued the first few Destruction releases.

Highlights include probably Sinner 666, the best song on here, due to its nice thrash break... "burrrnnnn!!!" - there are a few definite thrash moments here, even though the album is overall speed metal. "Hunter in Chains" has some nice shrieky vocals and an even more overt counterpoint thrash break, while "Nightmare" has probably the coolest chorus to sing along to with a very peculiar high note in it. "Legions of Evil" has a great melodic thrash break with a ripping solo, and "Rush of Power" also has some nice leads - pretty much every song has some cool discerning feature to make it memorable in some way. It will probably take you about 3-4 listens to memorise all of the main elements of the album, and a few hundred more before you get bored of it. Very classy, well-executed speed metal with some nice thrash influence. Highly recommended.