Church And State is a classic output that initially saw the light of day in 1988 from the Chicago-based band Iron Cross. When this record was released everyone that were into the extreme sound at the time and lived in Chicago, didn’t miss this classic vinyl but as the time passed by, this record has been forgotten and never really knew the success it deserved. After 20 years, the band decides to release Church And State once again, this time on CD with 3 bonus tracks and with a better sound since it is remastered. This movement at my opinion is more than interesting so that everyone will be able to come in contact with the music of Iron Cross because this specific band can easily gain the interest of those who listen to the traditional Heavy/Thrash Metal. I wouldn’t want to analyze in details the music of the band because this is a classic record, released many years back and those who were interested they have already taken a small clue about this album. For those who do not know it however, succinctly let’s say that Church And State contains all the formal elements that we’ve known from similar bands that existed in ’80s, from the classic thrash riffs up to the familiar Heavy Metal outbreaks and the catchy choruses. The pace is mostly uptempo with only a few exceptions, while the production accomplishes to take us many years backwards, when such bands dominated. The only thing that I must say to those who did not have the opportunity to hear this record so far is that you must not overpass Church And State cause it can win a very good place in your music collection amongst the classic albums. Basilhs Mazarhs Translation: Vaso Prassa

Back when this was on vinyl, there wasn't any Thrasher in Chicago who didn't have this release spinning on their turntables regularly! Now that it's available once again in CD format, I trust all of their original fans will be itching to buy this up, not only relive their youth, but to check out the bonus tracks they may have only experienced at live performances. Those who were unfortunately not exposed to Iron Cross back in their heyday are now able to get a taste of just how much talent was poured into the making of this album, and I believe they will also walk away with a much larger appreciation of where their favorite modern bands have been inspired.