Stigmartyr

If you had to pinpoint where Armoured Angel turned from thrash to death, then it's this EP. The previous two demos had flirted with more extreme sounds, but by this point the band had turned from an extreme thrash band to a straight death metal act. Not that this is too surprising in the least - Communion amply showed a wicked thrash band just on the cusp of more intense sounds. Two years later, and we have exactly that.

Like almost all of Armoured Angel's non-LP output, Stigmartyr is four tracks in approximately 15 minutes. And like all of the band's releases (LP or otherwise), it's a compelling listen. "Compelling"? Man, what a weak word. The thesaurus gives me "domineering", "blazing", and "red-hot"; I guess "hellacious" would combine all three if that didn't have a bad connotation. Point being, it's incredible. Thought it would have been amazing if these EPs and demos were developed into LPs (sad to say it took 17 years for one to appear), they're of such strong quality in songwriting and production that it's never possible to be disappointed if you're a thrash and death metal maniac. Though the previous releases were all demos, there's no change in aesthetic - they still have that high-class bassy gloss that never dips into overproduction.

Stigmartyr has a lot in common with the 1989 demo Wings of Death. Both were recorded at a transition period; the former from thrash to death metal, and the latter from heavy to thrash metal. They're also both fairly straightforward releases compared to what would come later - be it the 1990 demo Communion and its gunshot grooves or the 1994 EP Mysterium and its blazing, beefy riffs that foreshadowed the 1999 LP. Both releases can also easily be paired with the releases directly after them, given that Armoured Angel often riffed on (no pun intended) the ideas of previous releases. I find both Stigmartyr and Wings of Death the weaker ones when compared to their sisters - neither are bad in any way, simply the follow-ups are more refined.

Armoured Angel still retains their thrash background, though of course the serac of death metal juts forth its jagged edge. This could be due to some influence from the bands they shared the stage with at the time: Sadistik Exekution, Mortal Sin, and Christbait (early on at least) all went a little beyond thrash and incorporated more and more extreme sounds. By this point, the band was in the second year of the Metal for the Brain festival, which was put on with fellow Australian death metallers Alchemist. And Alchemist had their own semi-melodic take on death metal, which no doubt put both bands in contemporaneous and simultaneous development.

Stigmartyr invites satisfied head-nods as opposed to full-out banging. Matt Green's guitars are generally mid-paced as they were on Communion - Bolt Thrower comparisons wouldn't be entirely wrong (though Armoured Angel is way more melodic). The bass-heavy production is almost identical to Communion, although there are some studio effects such as the phaser at the intro to the title track and samples on the closer. The title track also has more of the band's slightly understated approach to solos, though with more emphasis on speed and ferocity outside of just going double-time.

The EP opens with one of the weaker tracks in this middle era of the band; "Hymn of Hate" is fine, but it's not to the level of "Castration" or "Whore of Babylon". But things come up fast with "Beyond the Sacrament" and "Stigmartyr" proper, both of which go just as hard as their titles deserve. "Beyond the Sacrament" would've made a better opener than "Hymn of Hate" - it bursts right out the gate like "Armoured Angel" from Wings of Death. The first half of "Ordained in Darkness" is an awesome instrumental with an ever-so-slight synth backing paired with preachers' ramblings and exclamations. Joel Green comes in with an absolutely demonic stanza, and then the radio cacophony simply increases. This final track is a bit interesting given Armoured Angel's eventual collaboration with Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke - I can't help but wonder if this were an early inkling of would come in those aborted 1995 sessions.

Stigmartyr is a killer 15-minute slice of death metal. However, I don't listen to it nearly as much as the other EPs and demos (barring Baptism in Blood). It feels even more transitional than Wings of Death, somewhat as if the band still wasn't entirely sure about where to go after Communion but knew they wanted something harder in those two years time. But again, it's all relative - a somewhat less successful Armoured Angel EP would still be one of the best releases of any other band. If you like this, do not forget to check out the next EP, Mysterium. Hell, just listen to all of it.

Armoured Angel, the band that separated thrash from speed, had a pronounced weakness for EPs. "Stigmartyr", the release that celebrates this year its 25th anniversary, was the third release with exactly four pieces. But it's not only the format that reminds me of the previously produced "Wings of Death" and "Communion". The music also stands in the tradition of these works. Abrasive guitars lay the foundation for ironclad riffs and the result is once again impressive. Armoured Angel create an oppressive atmosphere that casts its spell on the listener.

The closer "Ordained by Darkness" is the piece that puts the focus extremely on a dark and nightmarish mood. Is it really a song or just a generously designed outro? I don't care. The fact is that spoken vocals and a hysterical crowd generate a terrifying aura. This tune contrasts with the comparatively quick title track. "Stigmartyr" convinces with the interplay of sawing guitars and sinister lines. This is not a speed track in the stricter sense, but it holds some more or less explosive parts that add a furious touch to the usually very controlled approach of the band; and it belongs to the highlights of the entire band catalogue.

Remarkable is the production. It emphasises the monolithic, almost monotonous (yet fascinating) compositions in a very suitable manner. One does not find any sign of happiness while the malignant guitars dominate the sound. The rhythm section does not come off badly and the hoarse voice of the lead singer strikes the right tone. Honestly speaking: it's more or less one and the same tone during the entire EP, but I don't care a pap for it. Thrash metal is no playground for opera singers. Can I have an award for this innovative finding?

Unlike its predecessors and probably due to the fact that this EP was not published by Hells Headbangers Records, it provides two songs on both sides instead of having united all tracks on one side. This means that we have a very homogeneous A side, because both songs of the first half lie between the two pieces that I have already described. Dark and somewhat grim guitars lead the listener to the forecourt of hell, not rapidly but with a firm grip. With that said, it comes as no surprise that the EP delivers only strong and subliminally violent material without any form of technical gimmicks. No frills thrash with class, this is the name of the game; and there can be no doubt that this game evokes a lot of dark emotions.

Yes, this is one of those releases that has ‘the’ magic but when you consciously start analysing you just don’t seem to get it! Armoured Angel play two kinds of songs here. We have the slow, eerie, catchy and even groovy death metal tunes and there are high paced songs with a black metalish polka beat. I prefer the slow songs. Something I normally will never do!

There’s something about their slow songs. A hypnotising effect. The vocals are light-weight grunts eighties style and the guitars have this old Bolt Thrower atmosphere sound wise. On top of that there is a certain groove I recall from the earliest days of God Dethroned (the groove from “Cadavers” on their first demo). I know, I know. Normally concepts like ‘groove’ or ‘slow death metal’ are something from which I run. But Armoured Angel make it work here. The songs, sound and performance here perfectly fit together.

At first I skipped their faster songs but after a few listens the songs fell into place. Even though the pace is high, the over all atmosphere is actually not that different from the slow tunes. Due to their intrinsic simplicity and straight forwardness they’re hypnotising as well.

We’re talking a short and obscure death metal EP from the early nineties here which I’m glad I finally discovered.

Named like a power metal band with a logo to match and described in enough ‘80s zines as speed/thrash, I was kinda taken aback when this four-songer landed in my tape deck and strayed from what I was expecting. Strayed and was somewhat disappointing.

Little had I known that down under’s Armoured Angel had plucked its dishwater-gray speed/thrash feathers to grow even dingier ’92 Bolt Throwerian plumage in their place. That’s not the disappointing part, however, ‘cos I rather enjoyed VIth Crusade and its cellar-quaking, mountain-o-sound frightmare that plastered stores actually after this ep took flight (but didn’t crash land in my mailbox ‘til mid-’93). It didn’t bother me that the cleverly-titled Stigmartyr threw thrash/speed’s rusty razor back into the honored swamp of the ‘80s. Not at all, and I can only assume that the cell-scraping B chords (or whatever, I’m not a guitarist so sue me if I’m off) and Joel’s raspwhisper drawl are new atonal depths found snuggled within this particular pro-printed J-card. Then there’s the massive mix bulldozers would have a hard time pushing around.

With a collective look at these individual components, it’s evident the three-piece believed the writing they saw weeping from the wall and invented the ‘90s half of their dichotomy. A good move, I guess, considering what was dying behind them. Its heavy, mostly mid-speed death toil is almost hypnotic in its single minded grind. Leaning back, the wall of metal vibrates you in your chair as the molten grumble becomes a body cushion of double bass fusion, and slowly you come to know…peace…?...kinda like succumbing to road rumble during a prolonged car ride. So what does that mean, you ask. Well, it’s like Bolt Thrower with fewer rhythmic distractions. Unfortunately, those distractions are often the hooks, curves, and S-bends of songscripting. Without them you have, well, something like this, and throwaway “Ordained in Darkness”, a tune that tiptoes around the group’s destructiveness with lighter tempo intimation, filtered-in cacophony (crowd chants, multiple militant/commissary/religious speeches, all of which can barely be made out), and the last twenty seconds where this very light, single-toned keyboard note floats through like a phantom to the end, is a bit useless. It’s like BT outro “Through the Ages”, but it’s asking directions on the corner, or is just plain too cerebral. As an outro I guess it’s rudimentarily acceptable…if this thing had eight songs instead of four.

As for the rest, the songwriting seems a bit less-is-more that kinda failed. Blast beat hail explodes on your windshield here and there in the title cut, and “Hymn of Hate” and “Beyond the Sacrament” conjure a rhythm or two that veer into the shoulder of on-coming traffic and back. Luckily drummer/vocalist Joel leans on a horn that doesn’t sound like Karl Willettes incarnate, but more a breathy marriage of black/death that’s just fine in my book.

Now don’t let me steer you off into the woods. I’m not saying these are the only swerves in the road, but just fewer than I had gotten geared up for. Its strength is its pure, bowled-over intensity, and Stigmartyr gets high signs at least for that, but there isn’t enough captivating songwriting to scribble an A and a star on the paper. These are, however, more than Bolt Thrower tossed-off tracks.