Review Summary: Right when you thought the “New Wave” of thrash metal was dying down, this album rears its evil head.
You might be asking yourself, who the hell are Suicidal Angels? The answer is pretty simple. Suicidal Angels are a thrash metal band hailing from Greece. The band formed in 2001 and can be considered part of the “New Wave” of thrash metal. The band plays an extremely technical brand of thrash, and is an up-and-coming player in the “New Wave” of thrash movement. Although very talented, the band has not had as much attention as some of their thrash counterparts. (Havok, Vektor) Despite this lack of attention, they have managed to craft an album that old-timers and new fans of thrash alike can certainly agree on.
Right from the onset, the band displays their aggressive approach to playing, pummeling the listener with Infectious riffing and brute speed. It would seem that the band paid careful attention to play everything ten times faster than necessary, but the speed coupled with technical riffing and drumming is a truly compelling mix. The album manages to be highly technical and tight, while also managing to pump out some truly memorable and catchy riffs. Riffing is extremely varied, with the band carefully spreading them out so as to keep the material interesting and refreshing with each listen. The album also boasts some very abrasive and confrontational vocals that mold well with the music, feeding this beast even more energy. The album is so intense and aggressive that I genuinely question whether thrash can possibly sound heavier these days. This is thrash that would have fit in well with any number of bands from the 80’s
The group does exhibit some occasional melodic tendencies and a couple catchy courses, but the album as a whole is not very progressive as the band does not stray from their brutal thrash approach. The album is not pushing boundaries, and they aren't expanding their sound in any way. From the first track to the last the only breathing room you will experience comes in the form of few carefully placed intros and solos, but the rest of the album is balls to the walls thrash and nothing else. Subject matter also remains painfully typical, consisting of cliché evil topics that have been overdone throughout the years. However the bands intense music makes up for this in spades. The album also fails to distinguish stand-out tracks, with the album drawing its strength in all the tracks working together to give us this solid piece of metal.
Brutally fast and technical thrash awaits you, nothing more, and nothing less. Progressive elitists will certainly be displeased, although rugged veterans of thrash may find this album to be the holy grail of 2012, if you only give it the chance it deserves. This album certainly has restored a bit of my faith in the thrash movement.
RECOMMENDED TRACKS:
- Moshing Crew
- Chaos (The Curse Is Burning Inside)
- Face of God
- Summoning the Dead
- Bleeding Cries
