Band: Dark Angel
Album: Darkness Descends
Year: 1986
Genre: Thrash
Label: Combat
Line-up:
Don Doty - Vocals
Eric Meyer - Guitars
Jim Durkin - Guitars
Rob Yahn - Bass
Gene Hoglan - Drums
Ahh, sweet 1986. A year where everyday there seemed to be a new thrash band in the neighborhood. Everyone was playing fast, everyone was playing loud. But there was one band that just came out of nowhere and made an album that would annihilate small third world countries when cranked to just 2. It would grab you by the balls, beat you over the head with a brick, throw you against a wall and command you to headbang, or else. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Darkness Descends is that album.
From start to finish, this album just keeps you adrenalized (Is there such a word?) and beaten. The eerie intro to the title track gives you a warning of what is to come. Then, five whole minutes of total thrashing holocaust.
Need a break from all that headbanging? Too bad. The Burning of Sodom comes in and skull
fucks you at a pummeling 285 BEATS PER MINUTE. Yes, 285 bpm folks. Necrophobic wishes he was this good of song.
Next is HUNGER! OF THE UNDEAD! What can I say. The riffs are just crushing in this song. The lyrics also feature some morbid use of poetry:
"The silence deafens all the unheard screams, the darkness rips away all the unseen dreams, numbmess shrouds my soul. I'm left to roam, paralysis now my only home..."
Up next is the faster, heavier, meaner version of Merciless Death. The "We Have Arrived" take was excellent, but DFA take it and crank that mother up to 15. Another insane thrasher to add to the cauldron.
Darkness Descends, Chapter 5: Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)
We find our hero now trapped in a cave and he finds himself...
*giant minotaur appears out of nowhere, grabs our hero, and rips him into four equal pieces*
...rather screwed.
Yes, this song is yet ANOTHER great one. Sir Hoglan introduces us to this one with his almighty drumkit of death, and then the guitar barrage commences. This song also features this album's only melodic section, which is part of the solo, and it still manages to sound evil.
Black Prophecies is next, and is the longest song on the album clocking in at about 8:34. This song is chock full of riff changes, so it is in no part boring. The demons from the darkest pits of hell keep raging...
The album then closes with GODSOFWARHAVEGONEINSANE! YOU'VE PLAYED WITH FIRE, YOU'RE TO BLAME!
That's right kiddies, Perish In Flames. An excellent way to close off the album. Maintaining the same speed throughout, and featuring some of the greatest riffs DFA have ever written. I'm tempted to say the chorus lines again...
The only part of this album I hated was when it ended. I knew there may never be an album quite like this (in terms of intensity) ever again, and so far there hasn't been, save for Torture Squad's "Pandemonium". This may not be the best thrash album ever, but it comes d
amn close.
I recommend this album to fans of thrash, and fans of heavy
fucking metal in general.
THE CITY IS GUILTY
THE CRIME IS LIFE
THE SENTENCE IS DEATH...
DARKNESS DESCENDS!
Overall Rating: 5/5
