Into the Inferno

This is really old school metal. I would hesitate to call this thrash, to me this is more like heavy metal than thrash. If you didn't know, Shellshock is pre Dark Angel, and obviously shows Dark Angel in their embryonic state.

The songs on this effort are mostly mid-paced, nothing reaches breakneck speed and theres not much variation at all. The basic structure to a song is the verse/chours/verse/bridge/chours formula that has more in common with rock music than thrash.

As for the musicians, well they are young and it is their first demo so don't expect breathtaking arrangments (see above) or alot of technical skill. The drummer really lacks alot of skill, he does the same exact beat and fill trade off in preatty much every song. To me, he drags the replayability of this demo down. The guitarists are competent, playing a mix of venom, judas priest, and punk riffs. I don't care for the solos at all i find them dull, and uninspired. The guitar tone is really warm, and not harsh or abrasive at all.

The vocals are tame, Don Doty hasn't yet unleashed his ear piercing falsetto screaming yet. It's almost as if the vocalist has stage fright or something. He is so restrained its a little frusturating. There are parts of songs where you want to hear him rip into one of those falsetto screams, but it never happens.

As for production values, keep in mind that it is a demo from 1983 so it sounds similar to stuff from that period of time. It has a very analog and warm sound to it. The kick drum is hard to hear and the bass isn't there. Guitars are the loudest instrument here, and the vocals just kind of hover in the back.

This is material for die hard fans of Dark Angel. This really will not appeal to anyone else. It's decent and good for a couple of listens here and there.