I have listened to this thing all the way through quite a few times now, and I am convinced of one thing: it is surely a DEATH ANGEL album. I mean that I was initially unsure of the reunion (rumored to take place many times before this record came out) and because I was very worried about what it might sound like when it happened. Thank the Gods of Metal that I was wrong on both counts! What we have here folks, is a steaming slab of amazing thrash rock, that will hit you hard and make it hurt. Reunion "efforts" scare me because they could be great, or they could suck, or worse yet, they could have happened without anyone noticing.

History lesson - 1987: one of the most amazing thrash records of all time was released in DEATH ANGEL's "The Ultraviolence". Fast, well played, and memorable, these guys seemed to have a handle on the ROCK. They were a young band on the SF Bay area scene. The drummer was only 14 years old!! (Only a kid could have that kind of hand-eye thing going on!) After this monumental release, a growth period came about, with '88's "Frolic Through the Park" seeing the band expand the foundation it started, with catchier tunes (memorable, not mainstream). 1990 brought perhaps the group's finest effort, "Act III", which stretched the group's sound further without pollution. Acoustics and harmonies played a big part in the mix, along with insightful and heavy lyrics, "thrash with brains" if you will. Their breakup brought on many splinter groups, the most known of which are SWARM, and THE ORGANIZATION, neither of which captured the magic of the original act.

Fast forward to 2004...the anticipated release of "The Art Of Dying". When this thing came in the mail, I used rubber gloves and tweezers to open the package (don't ask why I had them lying around) and I was hit by a light resembling the Holy Grail. I walked very carefully to the stereo, and prepared for death! Well, here it comes....the death....and, uh well, this is it folks, kind of a let-down. Not complete mind you, but not "The Ultraviolence" either, not even "Act III". What we have here is a failure to live up to expectations. Is it a good effort? Yes. Is it worthy of your hard earned cash? Yes. Does it resemble the early stuff? Well, sort of. You see, the first track, "Thrown to the Wolves" starts out with a cool acoustic intro, then a mad-thrashing riff ala DESTRUCTION, and turns itself into a kickass song. From there on in, it is anyone's guess what they are trying to do. The music resembles a band that would be halfway between the ORGANIZATION, and the original DA. Lyrically, I think that the band took a step backwards from "Act III", with a more simple approach. "Spirit" and "Land of Blood" belong on the last ORGANIZATION album, not here. It's much too college-metal for my taste. I realize that diehard DA fans will buy this record, and if I hadn't gotten it for nada, I would have too, but I think that the overall effort could have been kicked up a notch. For those who want to know, Mark's vocals haven't lost a step, and the guitar and rhythm sections are just as tight as they have always been. I hope this is just a beginning, and after more feedback to the band we will get something a little closer to the earlier stuff, and they will distance themselves from the directions they took after DA broke-up in '90. Buy it, you'll like it, I do.

- Murtaugh

OFFICIAL SITE: www.deathangel.com

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