The Irish scene in Metal gave to the world some good names as THIN LIZZY (the first one), PRIMORDIAL, CRUACHAN, GAMA BOMB, ABADDON INCARNATE and some others, even with The Troubles (the period of more than 30 years of conflicts between Ireland and Northern Ireland between the late 1960s until 1998) occurring. And one new good name spreads its wings: the Thrash Metal quartet CROSSFIRE (don’t confound it with the Belgian quintet of the 80s) that comes with its first album, “Switch to Reset”. The drums were recorded at Trackmix Rehearsal Studios, while the guitars were recorded at Jordan Studios & Troubadour Rehearsal Studios, and the vocals at Troubadour Rehearsal Studios, with mixing and mastering done by the hands of Jonathan Mazzeo at The Grid Europe.

All to create a solid and dry sonority that fits in the models used by Old School Thrash Metal of the 80s: It’s clean and defined (to boost the aggressive appeal of the guitars), but aggressive and heavy as well. And the artwork of Old School Crew depicts the themes used by the band, and the Old School vein of their work as well. Yes, the band can be said an Old School Thrash Metal act, with clear influences from the melodic side of the genre practiced by North American acts from West Coast as METALLICA, MEGADETH, TESTAMENT and others of the same way (it can be heard during the guitar leads and duets, especially on “Who Goes There?”), but some instrumental parts resemble the early works of ANTHRAX as well. The instrumental parts are solid, the vocals are very good, and it shows a mature musical work full of energy and personality. Then what are you waiting for that you’re not listening to it right now?

There are 8 very good songs on this release, with the best moments to begin with being “Switch to Reset” (a thunderous and fast song with some slow parts, focusing on the aggressiveness and weight, and what good work on the guitars), “Book of the Dead” (another fast moment of the album, here with a weighty approach on bass guitar and drums), “Lost All Control” (the rhythmic contrasts and technical appeal of this one are hard to resist), “Coercion” (the impact of this one is oppressive, with very good snarls of the vocals), “Turned to Stone” (a more melodic moment of the album, showing diversity on the arrangements), and the long “Prometheus”.

“Switch to Reset” isn’t innovative, and relies on old models of Thrash Metal. But CROSSFIRE is a very good act that works with personality, so be welcome, and keep on Thrashing!