Also posted on MA, score of 85
How much will you like Angeldeath? How much do you like the first couple Morbid Angel albums?
That sounds dismissive, but its not. Angeldeath dont just try to sound like Morbid Angel, they actually try to be Morbid Angel. And they do it really, really well. The fast, headbanging riffs; the wailing solos; the slow, crushing riffs; lots and lots of Satan; its all here, and it sounds awesome. There are just enough influences from the rest of the old school Florida death metal scene to keep them from copyright infringement, but Hordes of Sickness/Legions of Hate cant be reasonably compared to anything but Morbid Angel, and its truly a testament to the passion and musicianship of these guys that it compares favorably.
The production on this EP is excellent. Guitars come through nice and clear, drums are easily heard, and the vocals are quite audible. Some of the cymbals are lost a bit, and the bass is non-existent. However, thats not the point. The point is that this sounds like old school US death metal. Exactly like it. If you played this for me without telling me what it was Id think it was an album from some forgotten Florida death metal band, probably composed of cousins of the members of Morbid Angel, recorded in late 1989 and lost in a closet for 20 years. In short; the production perfectly suits the music. The guitar playing on the album is excellent. The riffs are, while not simplistic, generally devoid of the pointless technical flourishes so common these days. In case I havent made this clear, the riffs sound a lot like Morbid Angel. A lot. The solos also sound like something Trey Azagthoth might whip out if he was having an off-day; the solos are well-played, controlled, and fairly technical, but they lack the wildness and fury of Treys work. However, if we stop for one second comparing this to Morbid Angel, these are damn good solos. Theyre concise and they get your attention and hold it. Bass, as previously mentioned, is inaudible aside from the odd note here and there, but it sounds like it just follows the guitars. The drumming is excellent; the drummer here manages to change things up constantly while maintaining extremely fast tempos, but he also knows when to just throw down a straight thrash beat or a blast beat. This is clearly a band that know what theyre doing. The weakest link is the vocalist, who while decent, sounds a bit thin and weak and doesnt carry the full fury conveyed by the rest of the band.
Now then, the songs.
Unholy Ceremonies kicks things off with an onslaught of whirling, headbangable riffs. This is the sort of stuff that produces casualties in mosh pits. About two minutes in the band slows things down into an awesomely thrashing groove that morphs into a badass, pinch-harmonic laden riff before building up again into another badassly heavy riff. Here the songwriting falters; the riff takes too long to introduce and loses some impact. But the UN HOLY CEREMONIES bit is just fucking crushing. Eventually things build to a gallop before returning to full-speed madness. This an excellent song, but after the first grooving bit the band loses focus a bit; it could have been their own Chapel of Ghouls, with only a little tweaking.
The Black Gate starts off, surprise surprise, at top speed before going into a riff suspiciously remniscent of Angel of Disease. Vocals come in, adding little but not detracting. The thrashing tempos are maintained throughout. If only the vocalist had a little more oomph, this would fucking own. Unfortunately, theres nothing that really sticks with you in this one; a longer solo would have been nice. Still, two minutes of headbanging right here.
Curse of Enthrallment starts off, once again, at high speed. Some cool, evil trem-picked riffs here. About two minutes in some insane blasting takes place before launching into an utterly crazy thrash assault and then a badass solo. This is some tightly crafted metal, for sure. Three minutes in the band finally slows down a bit for a midpaced riff just long enough to lull you into complacency before thrashing onwards. An incredibly dirty wah solo fits in nicely. Then more riffs. These guys never seem to run out of riffs, despite rarely repeating sections. At about 5:30 I forgot I wasnt listening to Altars of Madness. This song is truly an impressive feat; seven and a half minutes of thrashing death metal that feels more like five.
Call of the Ghoul take a guess how it starts off. Thrashing riffs plus ripping leads plus intense vocals; hardly original, but damned effective. I dont mean to repeat myself, but this sounds a LOT like Morbid Angel. Some killer drum work on this one, as well as more tasty riffs. The ending is awesome; I kind of wished theyd used it more.
Overall, this is an extremely well-written and well-played bit of Morbid Angel worship. I really recommend this for anyone who really likes Altars-Covenant and wants more; it is almost worthy of that esteemed company. I can only give this an 85 because, as awesome as it is, it completely lacks any originality. But if that doesnt bother you, add ten points and track this fucker down. You will not be disappointed.
How much will you like Angeldeath? How much do you like the first couple Morbid Angel albums?
That sounds dismissive, but its not. Angeldeath dont just try to sound like Morbid Angel, they actually try to be Morbid Angel. And they do it really, really well. The fast, headbanging riffs; the wailing solos; the slow, crushing riffs; lots and lots of Satan; its all here, and it sounds awesome. There are just enough influences from the rest of the old school Florida death metal scene to keep them from copyright infringement, but Hordes of Sickness/Legions of Hate cant be reasonably compared to anything but Morbid Angel, and its truly a testament to the passion and musicianship of these guys that it compares favorably.
The production on this EP is excellent. Guitars come through nice and clear, drums are easily heard, and the vocals are quite audible. Some of the cymbals are lost a bit, and the bass is non-existent. However, thats not the point. The point is that this sounds like old school US death metal. Exactly like it. If you played this for me without telling me what it was Id think it was an album from some forgotten Florida death metal band, probably composed of cousins of the members of Morbid Angel, recorded in late 1989 and lost in a closet for 20 years. In short; the production perfectly suits the music. The guitar playing on the album is excellent. The riffs are, while not simplistic, generally devoid of the pointless technical flourishes so common these days. In case I havent made this clear, the riffs sound a lot like Morbid Angel. A lot. The solos also sound like something Trey Azagthoth might whip out if he was having an off-day; the solos are well-played, controlled, and fairly technical, but they lack the wildness and fury of Treys work. However, if we stop for one second comparing this to Morbid Angel, these are damn good solos. Theyre concise and they get your attention and hold it. Bass, as previously mentioned, is inaudible aside from the odd note here and there, but it sounds like it just follows the guitars. The drumming is excellent; the drummer here manages to change things up constantly while maintaining extremely fast tempos, but he also knows when to just throw down a straight thrash beat or a blast beat. This is clearly a band that know what theyre doing. The weakest link is the vocalist, who while decent, sounds a bit thin and weak and doesnt carry the full fury conveyed by the rest of the band.
Now then, the songs.
Unholy Ceremonies kicks things off with an onslaught of whirling, headbangable riffs. This is the sort of stuff that produces casualties in mosh pits. About two minutes in the band slows things down into an awesomely thrashing groove that morphs into a badass, pinch-harmonic laden riff before building up again into another badassly heavy riff. Here the songwriting falters; the riff takes too long to introduce and loses some impact. But the UN HOLY CEREMONIES bit is just fucking crushing. Eventually things build to a gallop before returning to full-speed madness. This an excellent song, but after the first grooving bit the band loses focus a bit; it could have been their own Chapel of Ghouls, with only a little tweaking.
The Black Gate starts off, surprise surprise, at top speed before going into a riff suspiciously remniscent of Angel of Disease. Vocals come in, adding little but not detracting. The thrashing tempos are maintained throughout. If only the vocalist had a little more oomph, this would fucking own. Unfortunately, theres nothing that really sticks with you in this one; a longer solo would have been nice. Still, two minutes of headbanging right here.
Curse of Enthrallment starts off, once again, at high speed. Some cool, evil trem-picked riffs here. About two minutes in some insane blasting takes place before launching into an utterly crazy thrash assault and then a badass solo. This is some tightly crafted metal, for sure. Three minutes in the band finally slows down a bit for a midpaced riff just long enough to lull you into complacency before thrashing onwards. An incredibly dirty wah solo fits in nicely. Then more riffs. These guys never seem to run out of riffs, despite rarely repeating sections. At about 5:30 I forgot I wasnt listening to Altars of Madness. This song is truly an impressive feat; seven and a half minutes of thrashing death metal that feels more like five.
Call of the Ghoul take a guess how it starts off. Thrashing riffs plus ripping leads plus intense vocals; hardly original, but damned effective. I dont mean to repeat myself, but this sounds a LOT like Morbid Angel. Some killer drum work on this one, as well as more tasty riffs. The ending is awesome; I kind of wished theyd used it more.
Overall, this is an extremely well-written and well-played bit of Morbid Angel worship. I really recommend this for anyone who really likes Altars-Covenant and wants more; it is almost worthy of that esteemed company. I can only give this an 85 because, as awesome as it is, it completely lacks any originality. But if that doesnt bother you, add ten points and track this fucker down. You will not be disappointed.
