Here's the thing, I bought this because I'm a sucker for thrash, I was a big Death Angel fan when I was a kid, and I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt - especially since the new Exodus reunion record is pretty good for what it is. Honestly, when I first heard these guys were doing another record I thought it was a bad idea, and even though there are some redeeming moments herein, I can state without a doubt that this isn't a mandatory record at all, and I'm not sure I see the real purpose in it, sans a few killer tracks. The songwriting's just not that great. Many of the tracks top five or six minutes, and blaring mistake #1 is that the opening track, "Thrown to the Wolves", is also the longest at a mammoth 7+ minutes - far, far longer than it need be for all of its basic repetition. Following that is "5 Steps to Freedom", more of a weird heavy rock song with a few cool riffs but nothing to write home about. "Thicker Than Blood", while still a little rocked out (in a good way), is the first keeper, what with its energetic tempo and set of riffs reminiscent of a more Mot?rhead-ish take on something that would've sounded at home on Metallica's first record. "The Devil Incarnate" messes with more spacious guitar layering and a generally more sinister demeanor (especially vocally) that I do sort of like, but that angle gets taken to more of an Alice in Chains level in "Famine", and it's not really working out there (and I really like Alice in Chains, so...). "Prophecy" is probably closest to the "Act III" style, while "No" is another rocker with a slight punk edge to it, making this combo the strongest back-to-back hit of the entire album. "Spirit" is also thrashier and sports a few cool little dissonant chords that I like, and drummer Andy Galeon handling the lead vocals is a nice change of pace (bassist Dennis Pepa handles the lead vocals on the subsequent "Land of Blood" with his much gruffer style - another Mot?rhead-ish moment). The last piece, "Word to the Wise", starts out acoustic and is sung by guitarist Rob Cavestany, but it simply doesn't compare to older ballads like "Room With a View" or "Veil of Deception" (which were always among my favorites from this bands, despite what many may say). The recording is a significant problem for me as well. It's clear, and the rhythm section sounds pretty good for the most part, but the guitar tone sort of stinks. It's too weak. I like the clarity, but there's no punch at all, so when they're not soloing or playing a quirkier rock riff it falls way flat. The vocals are also too damn loud, which puts a bit much emphasis on some of their weaker moments (the vocal performance has taken a bit of a slip from the old days). A louder bass presence and heavier guitars would certainly help counterbalance that. The layout's so-so. I sort of like the simplicity of the cover actually, but the typefaces they've chosen throughout usually just don't seem right. The lyrics don't really do anything for me because even the interesting lines are dumbed down with constant forced rhyming that really oversimplifies everything: "If hopelessness is what you see it's what you'll get, Believe in today because the fight isn't over yet, Our sons and daughters will live if we never say die, Shame when the ones who have wings don't use them to fly..." I don't know, it's an okay record, but it's damn sure no "Act III" by any means (and of course there are very few similarities to the first two records). There's definitely no "Seemingly Endless Time" here. The songwriting tends to drag and get pretty bland, especially considering the bulky damn near hour-long running time. Really this could've been a much better record were about three or four of the tracks chopped off so that it'd run more like 35 minutes or so. The last half of the record is far stronger than the start of it. Move "Thicker Than Blood" towards the end and hack off the remaining four songs of the first chunk of the disc and you'd have a potential winner.
[Nuclear Blast]
Running time - 55:09, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Prophecy, No, Spirit]
Death Angel - http://www.deathangel.com
