Date Released: 27/05/2016
Label: Nuclear Blast
The
material here is a thrash master class and is perhaps comparable to that of the
latter day Overkill records- thrash, hooks, some speed, some mid paced
stuff.... Yep, the Death Angel of recent times is my favourite of their career.
Proper metal, all the time, of uniformly high quality.
“The Evil
Divide” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1.
The Moth
2.
Cause for Alarm
3.
Lost
4.
Father of Lies
5.
Hell to Pay
6.
It Can't Be This
7.
Hatred United, United Hate
8.
Breakaway
9.
The Electric Cell
10.
Let the Pieces Fall
The Review:
Death Angel return, hot on the heels
of last release “The Dream Calls for
Blood”- which was awesome, in case you missed it. Business as usual is the
name of the game here. Opener “The Moth”
pretty much slays with thrash beats, twisting riffs and strong hooks. The run
that Death
Angel have been on recently equals the quality of their earlier
records, in my view. Old school Death Angel may be, but there are echoes of
such bands as God
Forbid and Shadows Fall in the arrangements and delivery-
theirs is a more expansive sound than, say, Exodus (not knocking Exodus-
great band).
The
album continues at pace with “Cause For
Alarm” which is again a thrash tour de force. “Lost” is more mid pace, but still of thrash features- and hooks.
The same can be said of “Father of Lies”
which motors along nicely with trading and chugging guitars and the vocal is
spat out with genuine spite by Mark Osegueda. The material here is perhaps
comparable to that of the latter day Overkill records- thrash, hooks, some speed,
some mid paced stuff... a thrash masterclass, basically.
Over
the course of the ten tracks there is not really any let up- “Hell To Pay” is a rager, “It Can't Be This” is more measured (but
still deadly) and so on. One thing is for sure as the clean intro of “Hatred United, United Hate” gives way
to a thrashing riff, the Death Angel of 2016 is the heaviest most metal
of their lengthy career. I for one welcome this approach- as enjoyable as their
early records are, they certainly contained some experimental elements and more
balladic material from album three onwards. The comeback of the early 2000s
mixed and match brutality and melody, but for me the band have really hit their
stride with “The Evil Divide” and
its predecessor. There are echoes of NWOBHM esque sounds and vibes in “Breakaway” and even the NYHC hardcore
scene as well.
The
final two tracks are no less impactive with “The Electric Cell” being rather state of the art thrash and “Let The Pieces Fall” being an
impressive and almost epic finisher- a maelstrom of riffage and changes. Yep,
the Death
Angel of recent times is my favourite of their career. Proper metal,
all the time, of uniformly high quality.
“The Evil Divide” is available here
RIYL: Testament, Exodus, Annihilator, Evile
