Municipal Waste may have crowned themselves as the kings of party, with a drunken fan-base stumbling behind them but Tony Foresta, like his other Waste bandmates, shows a different side with Iron Reagan. Despite playing “house shows and dive bars” for the last couple of years, the crossover project consisting of Rob Skotis (Hellbear), Mark Bronzino (Mammoth Grinder, ANS) and Ryan Parrish (ex-Darkest Hour) have just been added to the Relapse roster allowing their politically-fuelled punk to reach the masses. “For me it’s cool because you can’t really go into that territory lyrically with Municipal Waste,” Tony explains when discussing the very obvious political themes. “Nobody wants to hear a band that sings about drinking the entire time try to wax philosophical about women’s rights in Virginia!”
With their debut album ‘Worse Than Dead’ released last year, Iron Reagan are already following it up with a 13 song EP coming soon and although it only lasts an insane seven minutes, there’s an evolution to be heard. “I think with the addition of Mark and Rob to the band it definitely has a darker sound, as well as being heavier. It’s still fast as shit though. Hardcore punk metal, man.”
As well as the EP and a full US tour with Ghoul and Occultist this year, Reagan have also released a split with fellow label mates Exhumed through Tankcrimes, thanks to a shared tour bus and several drunken discussions. Managing to offer all of this while juggling other projects is bound to be exhausting but for Tony it’s all worthwhile, particularly when it comes to checking out the local scene. “I really like playing out with Reagan because it’s a lot like starting over. It’s cool because you get introduced to a lot of killer new bands that you normally wouldn’t hear about, you know? I love both my bands very much and I enjoy writing lyrics so it’s cool to have two creative outlets like this.”
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