The Art of Dying

While I'm tempted to hypothesize over what might have manifest if Death Angel hadn't suffered the traumatic injury that put their career on hold post-Act III, the bare fact is that their music was enduring the process of diminishing returns since the debut. And if you've ever had the misfortune of experiencing the pair of incredibly miserable rock focused albums they released as The Organization (without front man Mark Osegueda), or the slightly less offensive but still mediocre Swarm album Beyond the End, you might have come to the same conclusion I did: that even if their career had persisted into the mid 90s, very little good might have come from it. Death Angel nu-metal albums? I would not have been surprised...that slight deviation towards pop rock commercialism with Act III did not exactly tease me towards promising things to come.

When The Art of Dying did finally arrive, 14 years after its predecessor, I can recall a lot of cautious anticipation from fans who were into the band in the 80s. After all, these guys wrote The Ultra-Violence. They put out that cool video for "Bored", dude. If anyone deserves another shot at the top, it was Death Angel. Yet, with so many of these reformed thrash icons to release new material in the 'oughts, like Celtic Frost's Monotheist in 2006 or Exodus' Tempo of the Damned in 2004, I found that at best, the bands' new material was merely a shadow of their former glories, updated into the modern milieu with contemporary production standards, but failing to create those same instantly memorable songs that imprint themselves immediately. To some degree, age and nostalgia might play into such a reaction, sure, but in all honesty I was instantly hooked by The Ultra-Violence. I am still, to this day, instantly drawn to some fraction of new metal albums I encounter, whether they be the works of veterans OR newcomers. The Art of Dying, unfortunately, did not win me over in 2004 and it still hasn't...

But I don't want to mislead anyone into thinking that it's an entirely worthless, shabby effort. At its best, The Art of Dying is a competent, modernized take on the speed/thrash metal that the band were writing for the first two albums. A few of the pieces sound like Death Angel should sound today if we were using The Ultra-Violence and Frolic Through the Park as its control group. But once again, there are quite a few stylistic departures from the roots, like "Famine" which sounds more like something that would happen if Mark Osegueda had been chosen to front Alice in Chains; or "Land of Blood" which honestly sounds like one of the more aggressive Bad Religion songs sans Brett's peppy melodic vocal; "Word to the Wise", another iffy power ballad type rocker that was clearly meant to channel some of that "A Room With a View" magic; "Never Me", with a funky pulse to its architecture redolent of Faith No More; or "No" which sounds more like an Armored Saint song (vocals and all) circa 1991 than Death Angel...

Oh wait, that's nearly HALF the fucking songs on this disc, and while none of them are quite so horrid as my outrage might imply, none of them are remotely relevant to my interests either. And these are just the ones I've actually listed! In truth, there are only about 3-4 songs on the whole album which resemble anything I'd actually want to hear from these Californians. I was, by 2004, bored to death of all of the alt rock, grunge and funk influences of the 90s that these guys were so enamored of, and I don't want them spoiling a fucking thrash album when the genre finally grew some balls again and decided it was okay to exist. How many of my heroes of the prior decades fell to the allure of that shit? Even the mighty Slayer was toppled when they suddenly thought they were Body Count. So you'll have to forgive me if I found The Art of Dying mildly frustrating in its excesses and the fact that it so openly weaves its outside influence into what would otherwise be an acceptable half dozen speed metal songs that, while nothing special, are at least worthy of their name.

It almost felt like Death Angel was afraid to dive right back into the music that made it what it was at the best of times. "Thrown to the Wolves" is a reasonably savage speedster with some predictable if punishing thrash muted rhythms, haughty and aggressive vocal lines and well placed backing shouts. "Prophecy" follows a similar pattern, but I really like the resonance the reverb creates over Osegueda's voice in the verses, a bit of that John Bush bite creeping into his mid range. "Spirit" is another decent tune with a number of melodic speed licks, but it's got a more melodic timbre to it and some bluesy, backing guitars and an acoustic breakdown which sides it more with the non-thrash constituents on the album as much as the thrash. Even songs like "Thicker Than Blood", with opens with some promising filth before becoming what is more or less a brazen punk rocker with more vicious vocals; and "The Devil Incarnate" which is quite possibly the catchiest song on the album for the vocals and doom/thrash grooves, feel hesitant to commit to that viral intensity of their formative years.

But it's not all that unexpected, really. Since Frolic Through the Park, the band had made it quite clear that they would deviate from a straight thrashing course whenever it suited them, and to be fair, they seem to have a decent grasp of the blues, grunge, groove, funk and punk influences that fashion many of these songs. From a technical standpoint, there are few problems here. The mix is kinetic and clear, with all instruments level and an appropriate punch to the guitars. Osegueda sounds as professional and focused as ever, the right balance of vicious acid and nasal melody that he was always aiming for, even when he veers off into Mike Patton or Layne Staley territory. The new guitarist Ted Aguilar fills Gus Pepa's shoes admirably, though a lot of the guitar leads throughout this album reek more of a hard rock and blues inspiration directly more than the explosive, frivolous flights of terror that helped cement the debut into thrashing infamy. The other members' vocals are adequate, if not as tight as Mark. The lyrics, too, aren't all that bad. A dozen or so cliche lines strewn about its pensive horizons, but the ability to apply personal, meaningful and effective imagery is not lost on them.

Ultimately, it wouldn't be a far stretch to call this Act IV, or the long lost Organization album that no one really wanted, because the thrash they built their band upon is the exception, rather than the rule. From the fine glint of the acoustic intro to the ensuing rush of "Thrown to the Wolves", there is this hopeful impression that Death Angel has returned, at long fucking last, and is about to kick our ass in, but too soon does it betray any notion of this revival, as it meanders off into the same peripheral detours that sullied its predecessor.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

The reformation of the long departed Death Angel, once a vicious thrash act that was all but on the cutting edge circa 1987 only to implode soon after, is a rather auspicious one. Initially it was a full out reunion minus guitarist Gus Pepa, and with it the promise of a full out return to form in the mold of the nasty riff machine that offered up "The Ultra-Violence". However, what ended up happening was something more along the lines of the modern thrash sound that characterizes recent Overkill output, and yet it also seemed to be a bit of a step back in time in certain respects. Essentially, the long awaited 4th studio effort "The Art Of Dying" could be chalked up as a bizarre rebirth, one that is oddly aware of a soon to be formidable revivalist element within the thrash genre.

This album can be chalked up as being modern in the sense that it largely draws upon the early 90s, slightly calmed down approach that Death Angel had been embracing to an extent on "Act III". However, while it is calmed down in the sense that the guitar sound is less than raucous, it is by no means slowed down. In fact, this listens closer to an older speed/thrash album when it gets cooking rather than a fist-pounding monster that was typical to the Bay Area by the late 80s. "Thicker Than Blood" and "Spirit" come forth as quintessential examples of a simpler, stationary sounding riff approach that has a larger element of lead guitar chime-ins, not all that far off from a couple of faster songs on the early Metallica and Exodus albums, and bringing in a fairly large helping of Judas Priest along with them.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of this album, apart from Osegueda's cutting shout, is the lead guitar work. While perhaps not unheard of for a thrash band given the prominence of Kirk Hammett and a few other similar lead guitarists, the solos on here have an overtly bluesy flavor to them, almost like a slightly busier version of Chris Poland. The frequency of leads on here is about on par with a typical 80s heavy metal album and a number of early speed/thrash releases circa 1983-84, but the mellowness they tend to express is much more in line with the former category. When things slow down, as on "Famine", things take on a character almost in line with the late works of Armored Saint leading into John Bush's brief stint with Anthrax, combined with a talk-box guitar sound that takes things almost to a 90s Motley Crue area.

By and large, this is a solid album with a few odd little quirks, and one fairly lame power ballad in "Word To The Wise" that closes things on a slightly less than stellar note. It's worlds better than what these guys were doing in their goofy little side-project The Organization after retiring the Death Angel name, and a noticeable step up from the 2 albums that they tried to use to get their way onto MTV, but it isn't quite as strong as the next couple albums that have come out since. This isn't 1987 thrashing madness, but it is also mercifully not 1997 nu-metal and all the crapiness that goes with it.

Death Angel is a strange band, They're a bit of both, Their first album was a thrash Metal classic for sure. After that, They tried to sound more linear, trying to reach out to more fans, They ultimately failed to do so because of a lack of charisma. This left the band in a sort of "half baked" state. Not a great underground nor a good mainstream band but they're still a very respectable band.

With "The Art of Dying" their music comes around full circle, if you will. This album has the thrash aspects of the first album but also the commercial aspects of "Frolic through the park", complete with catchy TV friendly vocals and Ballads. Having said so, I believe this album deserves more attention, This album will genuinely appeal to more mainstream fans and will raise their standards, Think Testament's "Practice what you preach" all over again. If this was on TV and radio everyday, Maybe I wouldn't hate mainstream so much.

I think this album is "Frolic through the park" done right, I believe this is what they wanted to do back then. The guitar play for the most part is very solid, The riffs are pretty good and groovy, The riffs in general have that touch of old school, remind me of Overkill's first two albums at places. The production is excellent, Osegueda's vocals are excellent, His vocals are genuinely likeable to all kinds of Metal fans, He has a good range of vocals, and you can understand all the lyrics pretty well. The vocals are angsty at places and will reach out to the more mainstream metal fans. The vocals on "Spirit" sounds like something you'd hear from a metalcore band, which isn't to say is bad.

The first track "Thrown to wolves" is almost a throw back to their first album but a minute into the song, you will realise that this is more new than old. "5 steps to freedom" is another thrashy song with really a catchy chorus and some very genuine riffs. "Thicker than blood" feels like 90's thrash done right, Osegueda's vocals stand out on this one, making a good harmony between the instrumentals and the vocals. There are tracks which are totally unremarkable and seem like mainstream fodder, take "Land of blood" and "Prophecy" for instance, The only thing that's going in these tracks are the groovy riffage and the soft vocals. "Never me" is one of the better and most fitting tracks on the album, There is melodic guitar section in the middle, Osegueda's vocals are pretty strong here. "Word the wise" starts off with Osegueda singing with a mute guitar riff, The song overall sounds like something you hear from an Avenged sevenfold ballad, But only better. Overall this album has a lot going and will appeal to many kinds of metalheads.

The strongest point of this album is the vocalist showcasing a range of different singing styles, Both new school and old school, The guitars are good, The drumming is Ok but nothing special, There is some good variety in this album, Thrash, Post-thrash and Ballads, I think this album should get more attention and will appeal to the fans of softer thrash and newer heavy metal bands. I think thrash will be never be the same again, This is what we will get in the future. Overall, A very good comeback by the old titans, They proved they can change their music with time and still stay faithful.

Death Angel was a really great band in the 80’s. It is actually one of the best bands that I’ve ever known. They have done some really impressive stuff indeed, and even though they have been in the grave for a very long time, they still can make great albums. This one is a good example of modern thrash/groove metal. Yes, you heard right. There is sadly some groove here and there, but it actually doesn’t do that much.

The first track on the album, “Thrown To The Wolves” is a really thrashy one. If anyone calls this a groove track, then they don’t know what thrash metal is. This song is one of the best songs on the album. The guitar work is excellent, and so is Osegueda’s vocals. Same goes for the second song “5 Steps Of Freedom.” They really show what they are capable of.

Then comes the highlight of the album. “Thicker Than Blood” is the best song on the album. It is actually the first Death Angel song that I heard. It is one of the best modern thrash metal tracks ever. It is so sad that Death Angel took a so long break. They really could have been something great. They could have been almost as popular as the big four. Of course, they are very popular, and more people should listen to their music.

However, there is one thing that is really annoying with this album. Osegueda doesn’t sing on every track. On the disappointing “Spirit” the drummer Andy Galeon takes over as vocalist. He isn’t in the same league as Mark Osegueda. This is the worst song on the album. They should know better than to do this. But however, on the track “Land Of Blood”, Dennis Pepa takes over. At least I think it is him. Who else would it be? This track is better, but it is not anything very special. And now, we’re going to the best track on the album which isn’t sang by Osegueda. “Word To The Wise” is a ballad sang by Rob Cavestany. This guy can actually sing pretty good. He suits the ballad pretty well.

“The Art Of Dying” is a really good comeback indeed. It is creative and inspiring. They really know how to make music. But the follow up "Killing Season" isn't that good though. This album is one of the best in the 2000's. If you haven’t heard it yet, then fucking get it!

"Death Angel" were always a strange band. They were unusually young and yet thrashed like beasts on "The Ultra-Violence". They then moved on to a more progressive, laid-back style on releases such as "Act 3" and "Frolic Through The Park" which although recieved critical acclaim, failed to strike a chord with fans who wanted the old thrashy style. Since then, the band has disbanded and now they've come back into the metal world with "The Art of Dying" which is astonishingly their first album in 14 (!) years.

If your expecting an "Ultra-Violence", you might as well ignore this one as this release isn't a return to the old style. It doesn't even have much in common with "Act 3", save for a few parts here and there. "The Art of Dying" is bare-bones heavy metal with lots of groove and a modern production. "The Art of Dying" is very much the meeting point of groove metal, heavy metal and thrash. Mark Osegueda's voice is far from the spine-chilling shrieks of "The Ultra-Violence" and is now a more relaxed, Layne Stately (Alice In Chains) influenced voice. The bass and drums are done VERY well. There are many good solos and groove-heavy riffs to be found here and this whole album is really catchy and far more straightforward than anything the band has done thus far.

A nice acoustic intro to starts off the album. "Thrown To The Wolves" is probably the closest thing to the band's past, it's really cacthy thrash. Yes, THRASH. "Thicker Than Blood" is a fun heavy metal song with a nice groove to it. "The Devil Incarnate" is probably the best song here, the way the song builds up is really cool - starts off slow and then goes into a perfect fast end. Track number 7 is where the album REALLY picks up, "No" is an awesome speedy track with a great gang chorus. The band shows their willingness to experiment with the different vocalist on stunning "Spirit", the track is filled with monstrous riffs and probably the best solo on the album, also - whoever sings it has a pretty average voice. "Land of Blood" too has a different singer on it and it's another great track, really enjoyable chorus, solos and a great voice - what more can you ask? "Never Me" is the return of Mark Osegueda for one last track on the album and it's an anthem - stellar chorus and it's pretty straightforward but HELL catchy with superbly done lyrics. Especially the excellent way in which it pops up from the dead at 4:26 with a fist-pumping chant - "Raise Your Heads! Open Eyes! Smash Down Walls! See The Lies". "Word To The Wise" begins with a nice acoustic intro and again we have the vocalist from "Land of Blood" singing here - and it's absolutely great. A brilliant closer for the album and it might be the albums catchiest song - it's a pretty tough choice which is the catchiest.

"5 Steps To Freedom" and "Prophecy" are decent tracks if somewhat boring. The only real filler in the album is "Famine" which is boring as hell with stupid electronic effects - what the hell were they thinking? Besides "Famine", this album is a solid return and is catchy as heck groove/heavy metal. Reccomended for open-minded "Death Angel" fans and heavy metal fans.

Must-hears : "Thrown To The Wolves", "The Devil Incarnate", "No", "Spirit", "Never Me", "Word To The Wise".

Well here it is, Death Angel’s long-awajted second coming. So, is it good? Damn right it is. This is an excellent album, and one of my favorites of 2004. There was a lot of hype about this release, and I must say, the disc lives up to this. Nearly everything about this recording shines. The production and engineering are top-notch. It has that clean, polished sound to it, and all the instruments are audible and at the perfect sound level.

Let me comment on the vocals. Mark’s vocal skills have definitely improved over the years, and his overall sound has matured. Pepa, Galeon, and Cavestany all perform vocals on the album as well, which gives it a lot of pleasant variation. The guitars are very enjoyable as well. The riffing is thrashy most of the time, but also features mid-paced punk influenced riffing, and some great melodic guitar-work. I’m particularly impressed with the solos on this release. I’m also especially impressed with the drum sound. Everything seems to be set to perfection on this guy’s kit, and he still knows how to beat the hell out of his instrument. Andy does a great job at doing some awesome thrash metal drumming, without reverting to boring blasts like a lot of the extreme 80s thrash bands.

Dennis Pepa has come up with some really cool bass lines for this album as well, and he does more than just follow the root notes of the guitar, without going overboard. His bass playing compliments the other musicians’ work perfectly. The general song structure on the album is good too. The songs never seem to go on too long, and are never too short. There are plenty of catchy choruses that often-times have me shouting along with them, and the solos and bridges seem to be put in at just the right place.

Overall this is a great album. It features lots of fast and thrashy speed metal with enough melody, and outside influence from punk and traditional rock to keep things fresh and original, without ruining the overall metal vibe. This is definitely a more mature, original, and memorable release than Death Angel’s earlier recordings and I hope they continue to write similar material for their next release. There is no doubt that Death Angel is back and here to stay, and their future is looking more promising than ever.

It would seem as though many people's expectations for this album were not met. The problem was that everyone wanted an asskicker of an albulm much like the comeback album that Exodus released. Unlike Exodus however, with the exception of their debut...Death Angel aren't really a thrash band. Their roots definately stem from a Thrash metal background and there is always tinges of thrashy riffs and drum patterns on all of their albums...even on The Organization stuff. But again, aside from their debut they've never released a full fledged thrash metal album.
So, now we can put that aside and move onto this album for what it is...a solid heavy metal album. Plain and simple. There are in fact some thrash elements found on this album, especially on tracks 1 and 2. There is also some funk styled sounds as well as a major punk influence...see "Thicker Than Blood". This is a worthy follow-up to Act III and it is actually not that far off from being a continuation of where the band left off on that album. I would also say that on a musical note, Mark's vocals are the best they've ever been. He's far more controlled and doesn't get annoying like he often did on the past albums. Although this album is a little heavier than Act III, it does however lack a certain level of consistency in the songs themselves. The album seems to be fairly diverse, unfortunately not every song is worthy to be heard and there are a couple songs on this disc that are definately skip worthy.
Personnaly, I don't think this is a bad album, I just don't think that this band should be marketed as a thrash band anymore. In fact thats been the case since 1987.

Another band is back from the dead to bring us some metal, this time Death Angel. The pre-release hype that was happening on the internet was saying this was going to be the bands return to The Ultra-Violence. Now I want to know who honestly thought that was going to happen? They only did one ravenous thrash album out of the first 3 and let's face it, they were very young when that album was first released. That being said, The Art of Dying is a very competent and rather enjoyable metal album. The album reminds one of Act III, but minus the funk.

The album does start off with a thrash tune, Thrown to the Wolves. Which I think might have been a terrible move. With all the people clamouring for a new Death Angel album that is like The Ultra-Violence, the hype that was built up, and then the first song on the album is this great thrash song... It built things up WAAAYYY too much for the rest of the album. Aside from a few bits and pieces there isn't thrash anywhere on the rest of the disc, which I agree is unfortunate but we still got a great album out of the deal.

Now after Thrown to the Wolves are two speed metal tunes. "5 Steps to Freedom" being a rather punk influenced metal tune and "Thicker than Blood" having a distinct Motorhead influence. The Devil Incarnate is a definite favorite being a slow builder with subtle drum and guitar work, letting the vocals hang in the air. Then at the 4:25 mark it hits the cool thrash part...

"Time has come to say goodbye
End a life lived in a lie
Your tomorrow is now gone
The devil incarnate lives on"

For the rest of the album, many of the same tricks of the first 4 songs are toyed with again. With some speed metal tunes, some rock type grooves, and a strong punk influence on some songs ("No" being a good example). On "Spirit" one of the other band members does the vocals, I honestly don't know who it is because I can't seem to find any info in the booklet about this. The vocals are good, but I would have preferred Mark Osegueda sang the song, it's kind of a shame that they have such a great vocalist but put him in the back seat on a few songs. Same thing happens on the track "Land of Blood", unsure who sings this but the vocals don't really fit. "Word to the Wise" is the last song and a VERY strong ballad with some hints of American folk music. I've heard some people don't like the vocals on this one (yet again someone other than Mark sings this) but I actually quite like them as they have a lot of character and feeling.

Overall it's a great album and I think it's unfortunate that many people's hopes were raised far too high. If you enjoyed Death Angel's Act III, I think there's a strong chance you'll enjoy this new album... And hey, even if you didn't give it a shot anyway as from what I've seen the opinions are quite varied of this one.

Even in a year of so many great comebacks, the impending release of “The Art of Dying” has been viewed as one of the more intriguing projects of 2004. Certainly, much of this is due to the lasting appeal of the band’s debut album, 1987’s “Ultra-Violence”, still considered a superior thrash album of the period. Maybe it is also because the band watered down their sound on their two subsequent albums before disbanding and then releasing god-awful music as THE ORGANIZATION and SWARM. However, for me a big part of the curiosity stems from the fact the band was so damned young when they released “Ultra-violence” (drummer Andy Galleon was fourteen!) that they are now making their comeback as a group of relativity young guys. Whatever the reasons, a lot of people—fans or just metal lovers, have been wondering if DEATH ANGEL will be able to deliver the goods.

And have they delivered the goods? Well…that depends. First, prospective buyers would do themselves a favor by remembering that this isn’t a follow up to “Ultra-Violence.” Fans (like me!) who were hoping to hear the band rediscover the heavy thrash and unapologetically metal of their debut will be disappointed with what they hear on the new album. As stated above, these guys produced a lot of music between their first album and this one, and not all of it has been good, much less great. When thought of as a follow up to their first album, “The Art of Dying” fails miserably. As a comeback from their last album as DEATH ANGEL, the new album fares pretty well. When compared with the band’s recent work in side projects, “The Art of Dying” is an undisputed success. So is it a good comeback? I guess that depends on what you think they are coming back from.

The majority of this album isn’t thrash and much of it is really not even metal at all. The opening track, “Thrown to the Wolves”, is promising. It begins with an acoustic intro before launching into a fairly good and catchy thrash tune. Unfortunately, the next thrash song doesn’t appear until track six, “Prophecy” which is probably the best song on the album. Most of the other songs are a mix of lite metal and hard rock, with touches of punk, thrash and modern rock. One of the more interesting songs, “The Devil Incarnate” has a similar structure to the song “Black Sabbath.” The song begins slowly and plods along before it speeds up and chugs along with a rewarding payoff at the end.

The musicianship is good and the production is crisp. The style and the songwriting are a bit disappointing. In fact, a few songs are down right painful to hear. The punk rock “No” has horrible vocals and lyrics. As on previous albums, singer Mark Osequeda hands the mic over to bandmates for lead vocals on a couple of songs. Andy Galleon’s vocals on “Spirit” have an alternative feel that is entirely unsatisfying in an otherwise decent song. Guitarist and main songwriter Rob Cavestany also sings on a couple of songs with varying success, the best performance being the closing track, a ballad of sorts called “Word to the Wise.”

It is hard to criticize a band for not trying to duplicate their prior and earliest work. Still, I’d guess that most fans will wish that DEATH ANGEL had taken the EXODUS route and created a new album that feels like stepping into a pair of familiar and well worn shoes to their old fans. Instead, the band has chosen to continue to develop their sound, and I can’t fault them for that. A successor to “Ultra-Violence” this is not, but “The Art of Dying” is successful at what it is: a modern mix of hard rock and metal with traces of their older style. It just could have been so much more.

Aside from the weak triggered drum sound and occasional not so good vocal spot, Death Angel have made a strong and very valid return to the scene. Fear not, peeps, the cousins have not lost their edge!

Their trademark eccentric riffing and vocal approach (the latter sometimes to their detriment) is totally intact, the only real difference being that Mark Osegueda's vocals no longer feature the hair-raising, bloodcurdling shrieks he used to let out all the time back in the day. But he's gotten more aggressive to compensate for that, and in fact this album has a very obvious hardcore/punk influence throughout, reminding me a lot of the early Bad Brains albums(some of the greatest hardcore/punk ever recorded) with its charging tempos and high energy.

Some of the most obvious examples of this new vein of influence are "Famine" and "Land of Blood", with prominent growling, distorted bass leading the way. In fact, bassist Dennis Pepa handles the mic on those tunes and his harsh, gritty shouting is well-suited for them. The metal is still very much intact as well, and the intro for "Never Me" has a great headbanging feel. Mark really sounds good, his voice has deepened a little with age, but not by much; you can still tell it's him, and his conviction has increased as well--no more whining like in "Bored", he belts his way through this album like the veteran he is.

Rob Cavestany only has vocals on one track that I can tell, the ending track "Word to the Wise", where his gruff yet soulful voice fits well with the song's message of hope for the future. And I like this track a lot, as it ends the album on a quiet yet authoritative note. Andy Galeon's turn in the spotlight, "Spirit", shows improvement on the vocal front but still is one of the weaker tracks on ths album, I'm afraid. He's a much tighter drummer, however, and it works that he's not as flashy as he was before. Now if only the drum sound wasn't so weak, because the production otherwise is very good, clear and well-mixed.

Welcome back, guys, we missed ya! Now play Houston, already! There have been few metal shows here this year so far and we need to have our town shaken up! And who better to do it than the new improved Death Angel?

Hell, for a band that hasn't released a studio-recorded album in fourteen years, I must give them a high five and a pat on the back. Being a huge Death Angel fan, it is obviously easy for me to state all of the good points of this album, so with the exception of a few "eh's," I will. Thrown to the Wolves...yes, does the intro ring a bell? I'd say this sounds something like Metallica's "Fight Fire With Fire" intro. As soon as that thrashy riff came in, I knew this album was no joke. I originally thought it would be the Death Angel equivalent of St. Anger, but I was evidently very wrong. These guys have managed to maintain their guitar style ever since The Ultra-Violence, and for that I give them much credit. This release shows how the band as a whole changed (though I believe Gus should have been there as well), but at the same time kept up their basic style. The song "Spirit" certainly is a great portrayal of Andy Galeon's voice, and the lyrics alone are inspiring. The one song that did not catch my attention...and even turned me off was "Land of Blood." What happened, Rob?! Your vocal style was incredible on Act III's "A Room With a View." To me, the song is massacred with his punk-influenced riffing and vocal style. In all respect, there is nothing wrong with a little punk influence, but somehow I don't think it has a place on this album at all. However, Cavestany redeems himself on his vocals for "Word to the Wise." Great way to end off the album...it certainly left me hanging. All in all, the album is without out a doubt much more mature than any of the others...(14 years, with a breakup and reformation!!!) Ted Aguilar has my respect and regards...I'm sure it will be a great ride with him on the Death Angel train...way to bring it back, guys!!!