Ltd 300, reissue 2024, insert, poster, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony; The year was 1985 when the Hamburg-based Speed/Thrash legend known by the name Iron Angel released their debut full-length album "Hellish Crossfire". Having made themselves a name with three demos all put out in the year before, Iron Angel were being counted among Germany's most promising newcomers, and the album was received with an appropriate measure of enthusiasm, as vocalist Dirk Schröder recalls: "Fans and press liked the album a lot, and for us as a small newcomer band it was just awesome to sell 26.000 copies right away - and that were only the sales in Germany." "Hellish Crossfire" was recorded in Berlin under the watchful eyes and ears of Horst Müller, who also took over the production duties (if that name doesn't ring a bell, take a look at the credits of Running Wild's "Gates to Purgatory", Kreator's "Endless Pain" or Celtic Frost's "Morbid Tales") Iron Angel never fit into one box only, so their debut album is a delightful blend of Speed and Heavy Metal, marking it's very own territory between the realms of Running Wild, Accept and Grave Digger on one side and Artillery and Destruction on the other - not to forget Dirk Schröder's remarkable voice, which is an outstanding feature of this extremely powerful, extremely promising debut album. This is an album which propelled a small garage band from Hamburg to sharing the stage with King Diamond. You should give it a listen.