IRON CROSS - Warhead CD (US IMPORT!)

Little is known about Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s homegrown thrashers IRON CROSS/HOLOCROSS. The band would seem to appear out of nowhere, launching an assault on the burgeoning Steel City heavy metal scene like a masked villain from parts unknown.

The band would only stick around for a few years before mysteriously slipping back into obscurity. But, within the band’s short time in the scene, they would deliver three albums. Over the decades, the two would become underground classics. One of which would come to be thought of by many as one of the greatest unsung thrash metal albums of all time.

IRON CROSS was formed in 1982 by guitarist P.J. Kacin, singer Char R.G, bassist Max Uzax and drummer Ray Molinari under the name IRON CROSS. Musically the band would start out with a more Sunset Strip-type sound akin to bands such as MOTLEY CRUE, RATT and Quiet Riot with some JUDAS PRIEST type elements. In 1985 IRON CROSS would record their debut album “Warhead” at Micro Mix Studios with engineer Jimmy Wilson (The Tung Bandits), who had previously worked with fellow local Pittsburgh acts ASSASSIN, VAHALLA and X-CALIBER. The 10-song album would be released on vinyl that year on Micro Mix Records.

The album would showcase a band that had not yet focused on an exact direction. And even though it would be comparable to Westcoast contemporaries, “Warhead” would hint at something more festering in the band. With an underbelly of aggressive angst, the tracks on the album would have a punkish no-nonsense, DIY vibe to them. This approach, accompanied by screaming vocals, grinding riffs and increasing faster tempos, would cause the band to merge slightly into speed metal territories. Clearly, IRON CROSS was not an L.A. band, nor did they pretend to be.