You've gotta respect a band that releases a demo tape in this day and age, and last year Connecticut's Iron Hand did just that, with their debut demo, which unloads five songs of metallic hardcore with a crust punk edge in 15 minutes. Expect a thick, raw recording that could use a smidge more clarity but works well for this style, which takes a pretty straightforward approach to driving, Swedish-influenced power chord rhythms and a multi-vocal attack of shouting/screaming, with some of that His Hero is Gone/Tragedy style of melody injected into the chord phrasings and quick lead breaks, etc. On occasion they'll actually lean towards a hint more metal, either via thrashy picking patterns or slightly more intricate riffing, which does help to separate the band out from the standard base of this style of hardcore/punk, but this is also one of those situations where you don't really crave innovation, you know? They know what they're going for and they do it quite well, so there's nothing to complain about!
