The Featured Classic Metal Album Review:
Title: Alpha Omega
Artist: Cro-Mags
Label: Century Media Records
Release Date: 1992

Rating: 4 Skulls
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    • Requiem's Review:
    Like my last classic review of Leeway, I figured I'd continue on with the origins of metalcore, part 2. The Cro-Mags certainly started out as a hardcore band, with hardcore lyrics, hardcore looks and the whole nine yards. But, it seems like the intertwining of the metal and hardcore worlds sent everyone on a mission to change the future of these two genres. Little did we know that hardcore would become more metal, and metal would become more hardcore, but it all has to do with some bands that did it right in the first place. One such band would be the Cro-Mags, and one such album would be Alpha Omega.

    This was obviously not an album written for hardcore kids, because this is full-fledged metal. Let's all forget about what the Cro-Mags used to sound like, and look at this album as another piece of metal history. The riffs on this are so undeniably heavy, I would probably put this in the top 10 most metal albums of all time. The guitars have that Master of Puppets-era attack and crunch to them while the drums maintain that trademark hardcore groove. Add in John Joseph's soulful croon and you'd swear this 5-piece could out leather Judas Priest.

    Although "Eyes of Tomorrow" is a good tune, I'm sure it's the main culprit in sending fans running for the hills due to the record scratching and hip hop styled vocals throughout. "The Other Side of Madness (Revenge)" sounds as heavy metal as any Judas Priest track with the slow tempos, heavy riffs and harmonious choruses that are as contagious as a cold in the chilly winter months. The end of "Apocalypse Now" out metals almost anything out there, really bringing out the metallic chug that Bay area thrashers made famous. Between all the slick playing, the crisp production, the insightful lyrics and the heartfelt guitar solos, any real metal fan should be convinced that this is fantastic material. If you like bands like Shadows Fall or Killswitch Engage, find out where they got their influences. I would almost guarantee most of those guys have this disc proudly gleaming in their collections.
    4 out of 5

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