Death Angel
The Art Of Dying

In 1982, a thrash metal band was formed in San Francisco. The curious thing was that the members were all Filipino cousins. When in '87, still teenagers, they birthed "The Ultra Violence," they delved into success, often cited as among the best artists of the current thrash scene.

Death Angel produced "Frolic Through The Park" a year later but tried to change their sound by incorporating more "refined" elements, and the result didn't go down well with people. In '90, they showcased "Act III," and made a comeback thanks to this violently aggressive album, which quickly got them back on track, making them the protagonists of a long tour. It was precisely a tour that overturned the future of the band; in fact, in Arizona, they had an accident with the bus making the drummer incapable of playing for a year. The band disbanded.
As the years passed, many people missed these Filipinos who, in two days and at only fifteen years old, had created an album of authentic destructive thrash metal; but in 2001 "Thrash Of The Titans" was celebrated, a musical ceremony of thrash artists playing to help Chuck Billy, singer of Testament, suffering from a rare type of cancer, and among many artists, there they were, Death Angel reunited to play together.

The beautiful thing is that they didn't play for the last time, and after a whole fourteen years of absence, the music stores in 2004 displayed their new album: "The Art Of Dying," or rather: the art of resurrection. You can't deny a change of style, nor a decrease in destructive potential, in short, it's undeniable that Death Angel aren't what they used to be, but this doesn't mean that this resurrection isn't valid when considered in itself.
In short, it doesn't excel but neither does it disappoint, it's a middle ground, containing songs that are cool, and others that you listen to just because, thus high and low moments, but overall enjoyable. It is overflowing with aggression and violence, technical complexities, and deviations from classic schemes. From a sweet acoustic guitar introduction, it transitions to 'Thrown To The Wolves,' fast, raw, and ruthless with a tempo supported by a chorus and substantial riffs with included time changes, presenting a beautiful solo at the end.

"Step From Freedom" has a much more contained, calm, and melodic air, with little movement and a divergent lyric, fully reminiscent of Anthrax while the following "Thicker than blood" is much harsher and more pressing, with a cheerful beat and rebellious sound. "Devil Incarnate" has slow rhythms and gentle solos and is based on the slow voice and the choruses alternating semi-poetic parts with others where the excellent Cavestany-Aguilar duo creates a bit of healthy noise. "Famine" is another miss, a song that doesn't stand out in anything, which I honestly didn't expect from the creators of a unique thrash in the world, but luckily it recovers with "Prophecy" announced by a fluid and electric solo that heralds a combination of alarming riffs and rage.
Very graceful but of little consideration is the carefree "No" that takes on many characteristics from the album “Act III” while 'Spirit' immediately strikes the ear for the strange presence of Andy Galeon's leading voice, a song with blurry riffs in the atmospheric background and with a pounding drum that constantly changes tempos and rhythms. The role of the bass is also excellent, a protagonist in "Land Of Blood," a spectacular song with a melodic chorus and an overwhelming and ironic rhythm, with a fun segment at the end. The Album concludes with "Never Me" a slow and calm song with a sweet solo, yet certainly doesn't miss the chance to show experimental techniques and especially sudden changes in tension and 'Word To The Wise', with a very analogous mechanism to the previous song, and with a particular passive tint.

What else should I add in conclusion... I think the recent thrash metal albums have the serious flaw of not including that dry "80s air" that generated the genre, and this album is absolutely not the top of their brief discography. However, all the Thrasher fans are passionate about these from S. Francisco, and maybe that's why we always welcome them in a somewhat open way. The fact remains that it is still unknown whether this "cooling down" is a deliberate factor or linked to a long period of inefficiency.