| 1. In the Fallout 2. Shout It Out 3. Call Out the Warning 4. Fifth Angel 5. Wings of Destiny 6. The Night 7. Only the Strong Survive 8. Cry Out the Fools 9. Fade to Flames |
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| Recent Releases Fifth Angel (1986, 1988, 1999 re-issue) Time Will Tell (1991, 1999 re-issue) |
Related Albums (in members): James Byrd - The Apocalypse Chime (1996) James Byrd - Crimes of Virtuosity (1998) |
| Laying in the depths of obscurity, is the band Fifth Angel.
Little heard of, and known to even the very few as being the band where James Byrd first
lent his axeslinging talents. Why a release this wonderful would be left in the shadows is
beyond me, perhaps it was the apocalyptic nature of their lyrics with the slight religious
tones. Maybe it was the fact that glam metal was dominating the airwaves and there was
little use for bands playing an early version of power metal fused with melodic hooks and
driven by tastefully striking guitar riffs and solos. But Fifth Angel is one of those
newly discovered gems I have stumbled upon and am thankful of it. The self titled release is one of the few albums that I can truthfully say that I like every single song on it. From the opener, "In the Fallout" to "Fades to Flames", its metal estacy. The personality of this disk lays in the performances of two musicians, vocalist Ted Pilot and guitarist James Byrd, who also wrote the majority of the music and lyrics on this release. Pilot's voice is one of the best I have ever had the pleasuring of hearing. Rock solid, never wavering or breaking, capable of nailing extremely high notes to perfection, including all-out screaming, but he's at his best when he's just giving it his all. His voice stays in a mid-range, not too deep, not so high that it sounds 'girly' but right in the middle, brimming with power and delivering each lyric with conviction. Equally as impressive is James Byrd's guitarwork. At the time, crazed soloing and over flaunting of axeslinging skills was the big thing, but Byrd manages to flaunt his stuff without going overboard. Byrd stays within the boundaries of each song, and adds emotion and flavor with his riffs and solos instead of trying to steal the show. Byrd is backed up by guitarist Ed Archer and the double axe attack adds even more depth to the mix. The rhythm section of John Macko and Ken K Mary provide a nice backbone, with supporting basswork and crisp, sharp drums. It all falls comfortably together to create pounding power metal fused with addictive melodies that just scream to be replayed over and over again. The songs themselves are totally killer. No other words can describe them. Inspiring, uplifiting, drivingly energetic and held together by the layers of guitar riffs given life by Byrd. Fifth Angel's debut release is easy to fall in love with. |
| Its not every day an album like this one is unleashed upon the industry. With so many superb song its tough to pick out even a handful to be the highlights. My absolute favourite is "Call Out the Fools", even if not the best representation of the disk, for it has a slightly different sound than all the other songs chosen to be included on the release. Its the creation of throwing power metal and hard rock together. Just listen to the opening layers of guitar, the heavy supporting riffs and the squealing over the top... and the chorus is just to die for! With the guitar breaks before each verse, and the little squeal afterwards. The guitar solo that begins at the top and then falls downward only to climb back up again and bubble straightforward. The rock solid vocal delivery drives this song home with heated passion. An attention getter from the very first note, is "Fade to Flames", with its acoustic opening, and change into the world of galloping riffs and another superb chorus, and a short and sweet guitar solo thrown in for good measure. The ending comes on very sudden, with quickly fading vocals that fall into silence. But it is super choruses that fuel the fire of Fifth Angel, and gives the band the wings to fly. "Shout It Out", "Call Out The Warning", "Fifth Angel" and "The Night" all sport exceptionally addictive and remarkably melodic choruses, that ooze with passion. "Wings of Destiny" is the closest thing to a ballad on the disk, but with its wartime lyrics and feel, in addition to its heavier sections, it doesnt quite make it to ballad status, but is one hell of a song reguardless and is slipped right into the middle of the cd to slow it down just a notch. From start to finish "Fifth Angel" rarely slips from these high standards in musical quality. "Only the Strong Survive" is the single exception, but even it is a powerful and frantic tune with enough life to it that its still an interesting song, just doesn't quite make it to that pedestal the rest of the release has been set upon. |
Fifth Angel is one album that simply cannot be overlooked nor missed out on. Its one of the few albums that truly is on a higher plane of existance than all of the others, where the musical beauty alone is enough to recommend it. All of the elements were pieced together in a rare state of perfection, and it shows. Without filling up the sound with dramatic well placed violins or keyboards, it lets the instruments speak for themselves, and is emotionally moving with just vocals and guitar and the song writing alone. Average in length songs, that will sing on in your heart and soul, hours after the music has ceased playing, and that speaks for itself. Sadly enough, Fifth Angel's debut doubles as their only time in the metal spotlight. Their second album was slickly produced melodic hard rock, but the emotional core and driving soul of the music was left behind in the 80s and without Byrd's signature guitar sound, the 1991 release "Time Will Tell" was obviously lacking. The band fell apart shortly afterward. "Fifth Angel", the debut was released twice, once in 1986 and again in 1988, and was quite a rarity in cd form until the recent re-release by Sony/Epic in Japan, in early 1999. Perhaps the third time around is the charm, and this album will fall into the hands of many more, and be newly discovered by another generation of metal fans who will appreciate it far more than when it was originally released. But for those who have heard it, they will understand why it was 1980s metal in its finest incarnation something truly special, and avoids sounding dated, even 13 years after its original release. A feat seldom accomplished. Rating = 9.7 |
