Hidden Gems & Guilty Pleasures: Bastard Cröss (USA)
Bastard Cröss (Blackened Thrash Metal // USA)
This Halloween, blackened metalpunk band Bastard Cröss unveils the auditory blasphemy that is their forthcoming album, »Crossripper« via Morbid and Miserable. The debut full-length has been heavily inspired by horror movies, and draws from religious history notably dark and violent documented events.
»Crossripper« begins with the raucous bloodbath that is »Parasitic«. This fast-paced track is laden with crust and filth ridden punk tendencies, demonstrating the sharp-edged side of Bastard Cröss’ sound. The song’s lyrics carry the tale of a parasite-ridden village who is plagued to kill in the name of what they deem to be their master. Having firmly established the gloomy tone of »Crossripper«, the album’s title track reveals further sonic depth through embracing influences from death metal and thrash across the instrumental parts. Entombed within the rising and falling dynamics, harrowing chants of the names of seven demons are present later in »Crossripper«, evoking a sense of the occult.
Drawing musically from early black metal, »Lycan Knights« ventures into dark fantasy realms. Vocal performances from both Blasphemous Axe and Heathen Chevalier appear on this song, emphasizing the impact of the lyrics. »Headless« was originally on the band’s debut EP. This rerecorded version of the track, which is themed around a headless horseman, also includes developments in its arrangements as well as an overall updated sound. The band’s dark humor transpires in a fusion of punk and metal in »Satanic Pandemonium«. Inspired by Ancient Egypt, »Sarcophagus« follows a mummy who returns from the dead with a macabre purpose leaving death and destruction in its wake.
A diversion into the 80s glam metal scene with »Demons At Midnight« provides a comedic interlude as the Bastard Cröss once again let loose with the fun side of their creativity. Thrash aggression soon returns, this time in the form of »Phantom Pestilence«. This is an example of the band’s more technical composition style. Thematically the song is about spirits protecting their cemetery from trespassers. »Crossripper« reaches its end with the brutal and devastating »Behead The Priest«.
About Bastard Cröss:
The blasphemous quartet emerged from the crypts in Philadelphia in the grim winter of 2021, releasing their self-titled EP in the same year. This was followed by a split with Black Knife in 2022 (released via JEMS), and 2023 saw the arrival of the »Beasts Of The Night« EP and the »Faster Than The Devil 2« split (released via Wiseblood Records). The new 2025 offering »Crossripper« (via Morbid and Miserable), sees the band extend even further into the hellish realms of their extreme sound.
Bastard Cröss’ musical influences stem from a menagerie of metallic inspirations from thrash (Slayer, Exodus) to black metal (Dissection) and punk aggression (Anti-Cimex). The band experiment with melodic harmonies layered above loud and dirty riffs. The band’s distinctive edge derives in part from the two vocalists who combine influences from early black and death metal.
Bastard Cröss explain that they combine their “love for classic horror media with black metal, thrash and punk to create intense, aggressive metalpunk splashed with twin vocal attacks, powerful guitar harmonies and crusty bass tones. Our songs can appeal to horror fans, metalheads and punks alike.”
Courtesy of C Squared Music
Discography:
• »Bastard Cröss« EP (Unchained Tapes, 2021)
• »Bastard Cröss / Black Knife« Split (Unchained Tapes, 2022)
• »Beasts Of The Night« EP (Unchained Tapes, 2023)
• »Faster Than The Devil 2« Split (Wise Blood Records, 2023)
• »Crossripper« Single (2025)
• »Behead The Priest« Single (2025)
• »Crossripper« LP (Morbid And Miserable Records, 2025)
Bastard Cröss is:
Heathen Chevalier – Guitars, Vocals
Blasphemous Axe – Guitars, Vocals
Beheader of Priests – Bass
Infernal Bastard – Drums
FFO: Deströyer 666, Midnight, Aura Noir, Destruction, Bathory, Kreator, Desaster, Bewitched, Nocturnal
Links:
Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp1 | Bandcamp2 | Spotify | YouTube
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well