BASTARD CRÖSS comes on like they have a grudge against your eardrums that they need to resolve with insane urgency. This Blackened Thrash foursome from Philly formed in the aftermath of the year of our plague, 2021. Over the last four years they've been steadily releasing EPs and splits and on All Hallows Eve 2025 they finally issued their debut full-length album, Crossripper, via Morbid and Miserable Records, a label that's quickly building a very nasty reputation of curating some seriously wicked extreme metal. 

Crossripper comprises nine blistering tracks across 37+ minutes. The production values are raw and analog, perfectly paired with the cover art (by Sandy Rezalmi) that screams DIY 80's hard core punk and metal. And that's really the core of this band. This is back to basics, hard core ripping Thrash with no apologies.

The album isn't terribly innovative, sticking to frenetic tempos, razor sharp riffs, rasping raspy vocals, and misanthropic lyrics. But then again, there is nothing wrong with consistency. Standout tracks are "Parasitic," an oddly melodic but vicious onslaught; "Headless" with riffs that rain sideways and almost get tremolo; "Sarcophagus" with a thick Doom-laden intro; the title-track, "Crossripper"; and "Demons of Midnight" which features some devastating riffage as well as a deadly extended drum break.

Overall, the album is relentless. The only break you'll get is on the final track, "Behead the Priest," which begins with a few seconds of spoken word lifted from Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. The line, pronounced by Dr. Terrence Wynn, perfectly reflects the theme of the album: "Evil. Pure, uncorrupted, ancient." This same track also has a fade that lasts about 90 seconds, lending a haunting and effective close to the album.  

Every track of BASTARD CRÖSS's Crossripper intones an iconic horror figure from demons to phantoms to werewolves to several headless entities—one a perpetrator, one a victim. Very befitting that it was released on Halloween. Have no fear, though, Crossripper is good for all seasons, so enjoy at will.