Armoured Angel - Angel of the Sixth Order

Armoured Angel - Angel of the Sixth Order

Armoured Angel:
Lucy: Bass
Yuri: Guitar and Vocals
Steve: Drums

For Armoured Angel’s legion of dedicated fans it has been a long wait.

Nearly five years have passed since their last release, the EP “Mysterium”.

In between the release of “Mysterium” and the much anticipated release of their first full length album Armoured Angel have undergone significant change.

After an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to record their first full length album with Jaz Coleman of “Killing Joke”, long standing members Joel (Drums and Vocals) and Matt (Guitar) left the band, travelling and living overseas. Rumours surrounding the future or more accurately the demise of Armoured Angel circulated widely.

Then, just when it seemed that all hope was lost Armoured Angel emerged, led by founding member Lucy on Bass along with new recruits Yuri on Guitars and Vocals and Steve on Drums.

As far as I am aware the first gig for the current line-up was at the Boardroom in Canberra in 1998. This gig showcased a band whose sound was hard, heavy and brimming with hostility (see the Armoured Angel Website for a review http://www.adrenalin.dynamite.com.au/aa).

A couple more gigs followed this one until the Album was launched at Canberra’s Gypsy Bar on Good Friday 1999. “A helluva way to spend Easter”.

The Album:

If you are expecting Australia’s premiere metal outfit to have traded their leather, and bullet belt guitar straps for baggy pants and grungy haircuts then you are sadly mistaken.

Armoured Angel, on Angel of the Sixth Order, blast their way through nine tracks of hard and heavy metal. Not the Death Metal that may be associated with some of their contemporaries but their own blend of Death, Grind and Thrash.

Steve and Lucy provide an extremely tight and muscular rhythm section pounding out a relentless assault on the senses. Complimenting the band’s rhythm section perfectly is Yuri’s guitar work. Many guitarists in the various metal genres totally dominate the rest of the band. Not Yuri. His guitar work blends seamlessly with Lucy and Steve to produce a massive sound. His rhythm guitar sound is heavy without being lost in the mix – a fate that plagues many guitarists in this type of band. The guitar solos, sometimes reminiscent of 80’s metal gods like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest provide an interesting contrast to the rhythm of many of the songs. They are interesting and executed with flair. Yuri proves himself an extremely versatile guitarist.

Many Death/Thrash style bands feature vocalists grinding their larynxes into the dust. Whilst sounding extremely aggressive Yuri’s vocals are relatively easy to understand and sound great. His voice is less guttural than that of former drummer and vocalist, Joel, but this in no way detracts from their deliverance or effect.

As the song titles suggest Armoured Angel are not singing happy pop love songs (Carved in Sin, Crucifiction). A quick peek at the photos in the CD booklet should also confirm this! If the intense nature of the music isn’t enough then be prepared for both challenging and confronting lyrics.

So what was bad about the album? Not a lot! There are a couple of areas that could be improved upon but these are matters of personal taste rather than failings on the part of the band.

In my opinion Yuri’s guitar sound when playing rhythm is sometimes a bit over processed and lacking the hard edge that would push the songs a little harder. A result of this is that Lucy’s bass can become buried, competing for the same frequency range as the guitar.

I have previously stated that the guitar work complements the bass and drumming of the band. Having said this, Armoured Angel should not be afraid to boost the level of the rhythm work every now and then. Sometimes it is a little too low.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that Armoured Angel have produced yet another mishmash of loud guitars, over the top drumming and anti-social vocals. Angel of the Sixth Order is an extremely well crafted Heavy Metal album. Get a hold of a copy any way you can.

Armoured Angel Website: http://www.adrenalin.dynamite.com.au/aa
Armoured Angel Email: Lucy: oriax_666@hotmail.com Yuri: yward@actonline.com.au

As always, feel free to email me with any comments, suggestions or criticism.