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DEATH ANGEL ‘The Art Of Dying ’ (Nuclear Blast) (2004)
I like to believe that I’m quite an easy person to please - all you have to
do is to tell me that Death Angel re-formed and are about to release a new
album, and I will have a stupid smile on my face for the rest of the year. I
was always a big fan of this phenomenal Bay Area band, and never quite
managed to understand why they decided to call it a day almost fourteen
years ago. I know though that I have to thank Chuck Billy for bringing these
very talented individuals back together. It was Chuck that personally asked
the band to re-form just for a gig, and it took five minutes on stage to
make them realise that the old chemistry was still there, and that all good
things happen for a reason. With plenty of inspiration and a refreshed
belief in the music industry, the band entered the studio and recorded their
fourth album "The Art Of Dying".
I really cannot believe what I’m about to say, but I’m really glad that the
band decided not to make another "Ultra-Violence" album. Before you start
calling me names and cursing me for the years to come, let me explain
myself: anyone who has been checking out their progress, would understand
that the band hates being labelled and would choose to disband rather than
allow themselves to become artistically suppressed.
The "Ultra-Violence" was a Thrash Metal masterpiece, an album created by a bunch of seventeen
year-olds (the drummer was fourteen at the time, believe it or not) who had
the guts and the inspiration to create one of the best Thrash Metal albums
in the history of music. Any other band in their shoes would have tried to
record a similar second release, following the success of the
"Ultra-Violence" release. Yes, any other band, but not Death Angel! The
band’s second album, "FrolicThrough the Park" was a more experimental album
and the same applies for the incredible "Act III", one of my favourite
albums of all time.
Today, a bit older and definitely much wiser, they created an album with a
fresh sound which combines elements from all their previous releases. If
you’re wasting your energy trying to find out whether the album is Thrashy
enough or not, I will tell you that "The Art Of Dying" is a really powerful
and melodic Metal release, and that should be enough for you!
There are twelve really good songs to listen to on this album: Thrashy tunes like
"Thrown to the Wolves", "Thicker Than Blood" and "Land of Blood" co-exist
with really inspirational and experimental songs like "The Devil
Incarnate"and "Famine". It’s a tradition for the band to record one very
melodic song with every release, and in this case the bearer of this
tradition is "Spirit", which also happens to be my favourite song of the
album!
Don’t know what it is that this American quintet does right every time, but
it seems to have worked once again. It’s bands like them that makes us all
feel proud of listening to this music, and it’s also bands like them on whom
we lay our hopes for the future! Welcome back guys, we have definitely
missed you!
Related>>
Interview
*****
Review by John Stefanis
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