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DEATH ANGEL :
THE ART OF DYING

I'll start this off by saying out right, "I love Death Angel, always have, always will". I picked up their 1987 debut, "The Ultra-Violence", quite by chance, the first week it hit the shelves. Since that time I have been firmly hooked. I managed to catch them live twice, once in '89 and again in '90, they were (and by all reports still are) a fantastic live act. When the band gave it up after the release of their brilliant "Act III" disc, it was truly a sad time for the Thrash scene. The band started out almost as a novelty act, as they were all so young when the first disc came out, but the greatness of the music could not be ignored, and it didn't take long for them to earn the respect of the Metal underground. The band was made up by a group of cousins; Mark Osegueda (vocals), Rob Cavestany (lead guitar), Gus Pepa (rhythm guitar), Dennis Pepa (bass) and Andy Galeon (drums). After three great studio efforts, and a so-so live disc, the band was involved in a bus accident. Andy was injured, and had to recover, at this point Mark decided to quit music altogether and move to New York. The rest of the band went on to perform as "The Organization". They released two albums (a self titled effort in '93, and "Savor the Flavor" in '95) but were never able to capture the magic (or the sales) that they had as Death Angel. Eventually Mark got back into music, he did a short stint with a band called "Silver Circus" (with: Paul Conti - drums, Tully - guitar, and Dave Cooper of "Blast" on bass) that never got past the demo stage. Then he came back west, and with fellow Death Angel alumni Rob and Andy, formed the new band "Swarm". Swarm only managed to put out an E.P. called "Devour", and one full length entitled "Beyond The End", but it was the start of a new era for Death Angel. Many of you reading this are too damn young to know or even care about this band, but that is all about to change, because after 14 long-ass years, they are back with a new CD! Four of the five original members are back, the only one missing in action is guitarist Gus Pepa, and he's been replaced by long time friend and fan of the band Ted Aguilar. So, is this "come-back" disc the greatest Thrash CD ever released? No... but it's pretty damn good. This could have just as easily been the immediate follow up to Act III, and would not have seemed out of place if released back in 1992. Interestingly enough, the band claims that everything we hear on The Art Of Dying was written after their reformation, and that there is actually over an albums worth of older tracks from 14 years ago sitting in the can! These might surface as a "special disc", or be used as bonus cuts as they reissue the old catalogue. As they displayed in the past, Death Angel continues to show us that Trash Metal can incorporate real, honest to god songs and melody, something that is truly being lost in many forms of extreme music today. Sure, there are some straight ahead old-school Thrash monsters like "Thrown To The Wolves" and "5 Steps Of Freedom", but there are also tracks like "The Devil Incarnate", that are full of mid-paced melody and groove. The last song, "Word To The Wise", even goes so far as to incorporate a bit of a "Stoner" vibe into the Death Angel bag of tricks. It is this sort of variety and risk taking that gained the band such a massive following in the past, and what will bring all those aging fans back into the fold. This is a solid recommendation. If you were ever a fan before, this will impress, if you're a newbie to the band, this is a fine place to start.
RATING = 8.5 Thrash-Metal (Released 2004)

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