Death Angel
The Dream Calls For Blood

When you arrive on the US scene and in front of you are Anthrax, Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer, all you can do is play your music and hope for positive feedback from critics and especially fans. It's a life in the shadow of the masters that the Californian Death Angel, have carried on, but one could also mention Dark Angel, Overkill, Metal Church, and many others.

Always dedicated to a powerful speed thrash devoid of experimental excesses, Death Angel emerged on the metal scene back in 1987 with their debut "The Ultra Violence." Then problems arrived at the beginning of the '90s followed by a comeback with the new millennium and works like "The Art Of Dying" (2004) and "Killing Season" (2008). Osegueda and his associates' last effort was "Relentless Retribution," a 2010 work that didn't quite hit the mark and marked a step back in their already limited production. Then, under the wing of Nuclear Blast, came this "The Dream Calls For Blood," a thrash metal album with the damned flavor of the Eighties.

It has been emphasized countless times by now how the genre has entered a hardly extinguishable involution vortex. A world rampant with "clone bands," imitations, and winks to the basest advertising commercialism. All elements one unfortunately has to reckon with: the merit of the new work by the San Francisco five is precisely returning to an original form. A production that scratches but aligns with modernity and genuine speed thrash tracks, devoid of any kind of experimentation. It's almost "strange" to suddenly find so much sonic simplicity. The opener "Left For Dead" already stands out for the solid riffs of the Cavestany-Aguilar pairing and for the good performance of singer Osegueda, who was certainly not exciting in the previous "Relentless Retribution." "Son Of The Morning" instead is the classic live appearance hit, one of the tracks on the CD where the various components are perfectly blended, with a sure-impact refrain. Similar coordinates for the title track, another great example of classic vintage thrash.

"The Dream Calls For Blood" is an album that does not require many listens; it's the old CD everyone expected in the '80s. Death Angel is back with genuine work, devoid of frills. Evidently, it's not an album that rewrites the characteristics of the genre; it can't even be called a masterpiece, but for lovers of an old way of playing thrash, the last effort by the Californians deserves a listen. Old style.

Three and a half stars.

1. "Left For Dead" (5:32)
2. "Son Of The Morning" (4:02)
3. "Fallen" (4:43)
4. "The Dream Calls For Blood" (4:12)
5. "Succubus" (4:27)
6. "Execution - Don't Save Me" (4:40)
7. "Caster Of Shame" (3:38)
8. "Detonate" (4:43)
9. "Empty" (4:59)
10. "Territorial Instinct - Bloodlust" (6:38)