I remember the first time I heard these guys. It was
1990 and they had just released Act III, their third album.
I was 14 and it was long past midnight. As I did every Saturday
night, I was watching Headbanger's Ball on MTV. Out of the
fog of sound-alike metal bands came Death Angel.
What impressed me was how technical they were with their
instruments. The guitars were otherworldly; they were amazing.
I was hooked immediately and ran to the store early the
next day to buy a copy of their CD. Unfortunately that was
the last bit of music the world would hear from them for
over a decade.
While on tour in 1990 supporting the album, they were in
an accident that left their drummer critically injured.
He needed a full year to recover. The label pressured them
to go on without him but they parted ways instead. This
is not a surprise, as they were all cousins and had been
together since 1983. They broke up the band and pursued
other projects.
In 2001, they reunited to perform at a benefit for Chuck
Billy of Testament. It was to be a one-time thing, but the
juices were flowing again and could not be stopped. They
released The Art of Dying in 2004 to average reviews. It
was good but it was not the Death Angel we remember. With
the release of Killing Season, it can be said that they
have truly returned.
The new work rocks hard and is filled with their signature
flare — guitar wizardry mixed with pounding bass and drums.
It is thrash metal in all its glory. Not every song is played
hard and fast though. On the song "Resurrection Machine,"
they start out with a tender guitar riff and a lightly strummed
acoustic guitar, then they bludgeon you with heavy power
chords and double-kicked bass drum. The best song on the
album is "Dethroned," which is also introduced with a slow
sweet riff. What makes this creation stand out is that it
is the most complete song. Vocals, guitars and drums, are
all in a near perfect hard-rock formula, but avoid being
cliché.
The lyrics were the only disappointing part of this album.
With the exception of "Steal the Crown," a song about revolution,
they don't really seem to have a point. Of course the point
of rock and roll is to be pointless sometimes. Maybe the
point is to scream, sing, bleed and be in the moment.
Buy this album and bang your head like its 1990 again.
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