DEATH ANGEL: Relentless Retribution

Produced by Jason Suecof
Released: August 2010

It's been a couple of years since Death Angel graced us with a new album, but considering the upheaval and turmoil that has surrounded the group in the last decade, we should be thankful they've given us an album at all. And we should indeed be thankful, because Relentless Retribution is another sterling effort from the most over-looked of the trash pioneers.

This doesn't hold up to the likes of Exodus and Overkill's 2010 efforts, being somewhat uneven overall. It suffers a little through the middle and due to some strange track-listing choices, but nevertheless it helps to remind us what a great band Death Angel is with their idiosyncratic take on metal. The thrashing starts immediately and ferociously as Mark Osegueda exhorts us to join him or die in "Relentless Revolution". He hasn't neglected the cerebral side of his songwriting with a mixture of empowering and topical lyrics across the set. Unfortunately the album is let down by a few unremarkable songs like "Truce" and "River of Rapture" and the near-Triviumising they suffer in "Claws so Deep". That track ends with an extended coda from guests Rodrigo y Gabriela and as cool as that is, I couldn't help but feel that it actually interrupted the flow of the album just as it was getting going and may well have been much better as a segue into the oddly Black Label Society-like ballad "Volcanic" later on. Still, this is Death Angel so it's going to have real standouts, and in that area "Opponents at Sides" with its combination of meaty thrash and healthy groove and "Into the Arms of Righteous Anger" certainly fit the bill. The sinister "Absence of Light" is also a clear highlight, making Relentless Retribution a bit of a mixed bag and Jason Suecof's production gives the band's music a modern sound with a commercial edge that will no doubt be a sore point with some fans.

This is a good album from Death Angel without being a great one, and we know they're capable of those. Perhaps if Osegueda and Cavestany can keep the same crew together into the future we'll see a real return to form.

1. Relentless Revolution
2. Claws in So Deep
3. Truce
4. Into the Arms of Righteous Anger
5. River of Rapture
6. Absence of Light
7. This Hate
8. Death of the Meek
9. Opponents at Sides
10. I Chose the Sky
11. Volcanic
12. Where They Lay

Rating: 72%

DEATH ANGEL & ARMORED SAINT LIVE IN SYDNEY

It was definitely a night for the old school as two true veterans of the American metal scene hit Sydney for the first time in their careers.

Paindivision opened the night with a short set of high-energy rocking metal, the debut for their new young vocalist who had only three days to prepare for the job. Even with what is now almost a completely new line-up, the Sydney quintet was solid as always, a strong warm-up for what was to come with “Flames of the Reaper” getting an appreciable cheer from the growing crowd.

With barely enough time for anyone to grab a beer or take a piss, Armored Saint walked out and ripped straight into "Reign of Fire" to a mighty roar and the pace barely dropped from that moment. Finding something to follow up one of their best songs wasn't hard. "March of the Saint" rolled out next, then came "Tribal Dance". Jeff Duncan and Phil Sandoval scooped out generous helpings of Armored Saint's rock-flavoured metal riffing with favourites like “Long Before I Die” and even "Lesson Well Learned" from the first EP getting an airing. John Bush has long been esteemed around these parts as one of the best true singers in metal and he certainly didn't tarnish that reputation tonight. After watching him climb onto the bass bin a couple of times I was almost expecting him to repeat the somersault he took into the crowd when he was out here with Anthrax in '96.

Armored Saint's 40-minute set seemed to fly by in less than half that as they fired off their constant stream of classic metal belters. As I waited for the encore, somebody yelled in my ear that they'd been told Death Angel had blown the Saint off stage the night before. That meant that either Armored Saint had not been on their game or Death Angel was something incredible. Armored Saint then capped off their night with "Can U Deliver", showing us again that they certainly could. They were going to be a hard act to follow.

It turned out that Death Angel was something incredible. In the interview I'd done with him a month or so before, Mark Osegueda had emphasised that his group was very much a live band, and tonight was the proof. This was up there with the best live performances I've ever seen. "Lord of Hate" began and the place just went nuts, the band pumped to be Down Under after so many years and the crowd pumped that they were here. Death Angel’s set was just one long assault of thrash-infused metal goodness. Osegueda proved himself a perfect front man, exhorting the crowd into action and telling us again and again how important it was for he and the band to be in the country. He was almost a blur for most of the night, and the rest of Death Angel were also barely still.

“Voracious Souls” tore some new orifices and a few songs later the guys unloaded an unholy triumvirate that dominated the evening. “Seemingly Endless Time” was simply amazing, far better in the live situation than on Act III and then came the two best songs from The Art of Dying, “Thrown to the Wolves” and “Devil Incarnate”, back to back. “Sonic Beatdown” lived up to its name and yet Death Angel still had more to deliver. They never faltered. Ted Aguilar and Rob Cavestany tore out tasty leads on top of riff after infectious riff and Andy Galeon kept everything tight in the engine room. After waiting for the room to virtually beg them to return, Death Angel closed the night with “Kill as One”, thus ending one of the best nights of classic metal this city has seen in many a long day.

This was a show that should not have been missed from two bands that helped to write the book and still have what it takes.

Death Angel setlist:

• Lord of Hate
• Evil Priest
• Buried Alive
• Voracious Souls
• Dethroned
• Carnival Justice
• Seemingly Endless Time
• Thrown to the Wolves
• Devil Incarnate
• Sonic Beatdown
• Soulless
• Bored
• 3rd Floor
• Kill as One