For Week Ending:
10 February 2024

Death Angel - The Art Of Dying (2004)

[Thrash Metal]

Releasing an album 14 years after your previous one is always a dangerous proposition, but when you add to the mix that your band has been inactive during the period and the style you play has been horrendously unfashionable for the last decade, the odds are really stacked against you. Even though they had started the band incredibly young, Death Angel had always been one of the more technical of the thrash breakthroughs of the 80s, and their comeback lets their precision and impeccable musicianship shine though - but there is nothing here that strays too far from being accessible to being unlistenable. The songs are beautifully crafted and immaculately produced, working within a wide range of heavy styles (but always close to their thrash metal roots). Some songs have punk-like undertones (reminiscent of Anthrax's 'Got The Time') whilst others, 'The Devil Incarnate' being a good example, have an infectious and catchy chorus, hooking the listener in. Just to mix it up a little more, Mark Oseguda (with his immediately recognisable voice) hands the mike to others, and all but one of the group sing lead vocals on one of the tracks. Final track 'Word To The Wise', sung by lead guitarist Rob Cavestany, is a wonderful breath of fresh air to end the album, sounding more like a mid-90s alternative rock song than a 1980s-style thrash anthem - but it somehow still works.

Arist Information
Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Daly City, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. The band has gone through several line-up changes, leaving guitarist Rob Cavestany as the only constant member; he and vocalist Mark Osegueda (who joined the group in 1984) are the only members of Death Angel to appear on all of their studio albums. Death Angel is often referred to as one of the key bands in the Bay Area thrash metal movement of the 1980s, and secured opening slots at club venues that decade, including opening for their peers Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Testament, Overkill, D.R.I., Mercyful Fate and Possessed. They are also often credited as one of the leaders of the second wave of thrash metal movement from the 1980s, and considered to be one of the "big eight" of the genre (along with Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Testament, Exodus and Overkill), as well as one of the so-called "Big Six of Bay Area thrash metal" (alongside Exodus, Testament, L??z Rockit, Forbidden and Vio-lence).

Faith No More - King For A Day... Fool For A Lifetime (1995)

[Alternative Rock]

A quick recap is necessary - I reviewed 'The Real Thing' a while back and love the heck out of this release. 'Angel Dust' kinda passed me by in 1992 due to the gluttony of great music released at the same time and the lack of reception it got. 95 was now a time where the wave of Alt/Hard Rock and even Grunge was dying off. Then enter Faith No More. Looking back, this is classic FNM. You listen to one song and you may expect the next to be similar, but it just isn't. For example the anger ridden track 2 'Ricochet' leads into a moody, passive 'Evidence' and then launches to my favourite 'The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies', with its sinister undertones, and I'll finish with a jazz inspired 'Star A.D.'. It's all over the place. It has been noted that Patton's vocal extends to another instrument in the band. I can see that in some points the songs have been arranged around his vocal thoughts on a song. I can't see how they could not be. I could honestly go on a track-by-track review. Little were we to know that there were better things to come (in my opinion anyway - perhaps another review to come).

Arist Information
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. They officially announced its breakup on April 20, 1998. The band has since reunited, conducting The Second Coming Tour.