Death Angel – The Art of (Nuclear Blast)
Hell yes! They are back! One of the best thrash bands of all time in my not-humble-at-all opinion. Thrash, with a lot of other influences, mainly the rock-n-roll that plagued so much death metal in the mid-90s, but also some more melodic elements, some doom, and even some more grunge, almost-alternative points. Overall, though, this is Death Angel, unmistakably unique and creative, still kicking ass after all these years. Fast, thrashy guitars, imaginative drums, vocals that are understandable and extremely unique (think of a mix of Kreator’s Mille, Destruction’s Schmier, and a clean, sober Lemmy, with a little bit of Ginger thrown in).

Tracks:
1) Intro, 30 seconds of acoustic guitar segue into...
2) An intro riff so old-school and awesome (think SFSGSW-era Megadeth) you’ll do a double-take. Gets very melodic and has some excellent solos.
3) Great song, but FCCs.
4) Whoa, check out that Motorhead influence! Pure thrash ‘n’ roll, with a killer solo and awesome vocals.
5) My favorite song on the CD, a slow, doomy, Sabbath-y dirge with a kick-ass beat and superb soloing and choruses.
6) A slight Metallica feel (circa Black Album) with slightly processed vocals layered over guitar noodling and then straight riffs with gang shouted choruses. Again, amazing, melodic chorus.
7) Starts off with crazy soloing and then continues with a staccato vocal delivery and downtuned thrash riffs.
8) Another thrash ‘n’ roll track with spidery fretboard work and tons of little solos thrown in everywhere with drumming that works perfectly. The shouted gang vocals make another appearance and the chorus is great as always.
9) More straight-forward thrash, this one is sung by someone other than the main vocalist, and I like it a lot.
10) Another singer on this one, and sounds like pure old-school Overkill mixed with Kiss (I hate to say it, but this song reminds of “Deuce”).
11) Perhaps the most modern song on the album, way heavy riffs, ripping solos, and monster vocals, all of it coming together for a very eerie feeling. Seriously, that guitar solo is beyond words.
12) A ballad? It works so well that it’s my second favorite song on the alum. Acoustic beginning, with instrumentation that swells and very heartfelt vocals, eventually picks up.