Death Angel
The Evil Divide
Nuclear Blast
2016
Death Angel despite their name that alludes towards darker more violent things and their ups and downs, changes of names and hiatuses have been stalwarts of the Bay Area sound sharing a lot of similarities with bands like Testament, Metallica, Exodus and the like.
With a string of classic albums in the 80s that were well received but possibly a little obscured by the real heavyweights of the scene, Death Angel fell into the also runs category, not by their own choosing, but because some bands were just more popular. Since their one off post millennial reunion at the time meant to help with Chuck Billy’s medical issues, they have stayed reunited and released some five albums – including this one (more than they did back in the day) with somewhat mixed results when it came to fans acceptance and acknowledgment. “The Evil Divide” is definitely a step up imho – from the somewhat less focused “The Dream Calls for Blood” and despite the up-to-date sound production is imbued with the 80s spirit of things.
While most “new breed” Thrash bands have trouble coming across as original, either opting to “copy” the sound of old bands or just ending up sounding terribly generic, Death Angel have no problem picking up the best aspects of their past and effortlessly updating them for today. Without trying they come across as an authority. It helps a lot that some key people like guitarist Rob Cavestany and vocalist Mark Osegueda are still in place but even their newer members have gelled well and sound solid.
Opener “The Moth” is hard hitting while also being able to maintain a generous amount of melody, an aspect that will truly set apart great bands from mediocre ones. There is groove, but there’s also melody and scorching solos without compromising on the aggression too much. It also ties in with the iconic take on “Silence of the Lambs” on the albums cover.
“Cause for Alarm” is similar but with more prominent and edgy riffs and flows effortlessly.
Even the much softer “Lost” that does away with most of the aggression, is great in terms of ideas and comes across as something really great. A wager that the band wins hands down.
“Father of Lies” picks up the slack and while it keeps it melodic moments quite separate from the aggro ones, it does so exemplary and with an imaginative solo in the middle.
“Hell to Pay” is a return to proper thrash, almost coming across as a better take on modern day Slayer and Exodus, if they weren’t mostly “running on empty”. They are gritty, serving up all the animosity that you may have had for over two decades for not being able to listen pure and raw thrash metal, just to silence the complainers (or the lambs).
“It Can’t Be This” tries to mix up the pace as much as it can, but mostly stays in the middle, not bad, but probably a little lacking in focus.
“Hatred United, United Hate” is pretty goof with it’s nice riffs and nice lyric, not to mention a nice solo and an overall dry and in your face sound and attitude that works.
“Breakaway” tries to keep everything going, possibly introducing a bit of Anthrax into the mix, not bad really.
“The Electric Cell” again isn’t bad with its Talli/Testa meets Slayer aesthetics, but nothing holds even a candle to the albums final and by far best song “Let the Pieces Fall”, a track that manages to encompass the best aspects of the band and despite not being neckbreakingly fast, come across so crushingly heavy and authoritative that it simply eviscerates any opposition.
Hmm, if you like 80s style thrash and you like a retro but modern production sound, this is an album that ticks all the boxes and is highly enjoyable, while it still doesn’t play in the champion’s league, it’s has all the specs to be in it.
With a string of classic albums in the 80s that were well received but possibly a little obscured by the real heavyweights of the scene, Death Angel fell into the also runs category, not by their own choosing, but because some bands were just more popular. Since their one off post millennial reunion at the time meant to help with Chuck Billy’s medical issues, they have stayed reunited and released some five albums – including this one (more than they did back in the day) with somewhat mixed results when it came to fans acceptance and acknowledgment. “The Evil Divide” is definitely a step up imho – from the somewhat less focused “The Dream Calls for Blood” and despite the up-to-date sound production is imbued with the 80s spirit of things.
While most “new breed” Thrash bands have trouble coming across as original, either opting to “copy” the sound of old bands or just ending up sounding terribly generic, Death Angel have no problem picking up the best aspects of their past and effortlessly updating them for today. Without trying they come across as an authority. It helps a lot that some key people like guitarist Rob Cavestany and vocalist Mark Osegueda are still in place but even their newer members have gelled well and sound solid.
Opener “The Moth” is hard hitting while also being able to maintain a generous amount of melody, an aspect that will truly set apart great bands from mediocre ones. There is groove, but there’s also melody and scorching solos without compromising on the aggression too much. It also ties in with the iconic take on “Silence of the Lambs” on the albums cover.
“Cause for Alarm” is similar but with more prominent and edgy riffs and flows effortlessly.
Even the much softer “Lost” that does away with most of the aggression, is great in terms of ideas and comes across as something really great. A wager that the band wins hands down.
“Father of Lies” picks up the slack and while it keeps it melodic moments quite separate from the aggro ones, it does so exemplary and with an imaginative solo in the middle.
“Hell to Pay” is a return to proper thrash, almost coming across as a better take on modern day Slayer and Exodus, if they weren’t mostly “running on empty”. They are gritty, serving up all the animosity that you may have had for over two decades for not being able to listen pure and raw thrash metal, just to silence the complainers (or the lambs).
“It Can’t Be This” tries to mix up the pace as much as it can, but mostly stays in the middle, not bad, but probably a little lacking in focus.
“Hatred United, United Hate” is pretty goof with it’s nice riffs and nice lyric, not to mention a nice solo and an overall dry and in your face sound and attitude that works.
“Breakaway” tries to keep everything going, possibly introducing a bit of Anthrax into the mix, not bad really.
“The Electric Cell” again isn’t bad with its Talli/Testa meets Slayer aesthetics, but nothing holds even a candle to the albums final and by far best song “Let the Pieces Fall”, a track that manages to encompass the best aspects of the band and despite not being neckbreakingly fast, come across so crushingly heavy and authoritative that it simply eviscerates any opposition.
Hmm, if you like 80s style thrash and you like a retro but modern production sound, this is an album that ticks all the boxes and is highly enjoyable, while it still doesn’t play in the champion’s league, it’s has all the specs to be in it.