As mentioned Suicidal Angels is a thrash metal band. They play a different form of thrash than a lot of the new thrash metal bands nowadays. Where the latter get their mustard from the Bay Area, Suicidal Angels get theirs from the Possessed and old Sepultura corner (listen to ‘Inquisition’ to get that warm and fuzzy Beneath The Remains feeling). They play their thrash much filthier and aggressive than some of their contemporaries.

 

Suicidal Angels got me by the balls at the first note and they got squeezed with every note following. This is not something that a lot of new bands are able to do. Lately when I encounter a new band, I don’t get really excited. Normally I yawn three times and after listening to it, I throw it into the corner so it can collect dust (to be honest this isn’t very hard in my home). Suicidal Angels surprises me with their aggressiveness. Fortunately they combine it with enough melody to keep it interesting, so the songs don’t tend to sound the same (a problem that a lot of bands have, who desperately try to be as aggressive as possible).

 

One of the things that stood out the most is the rhythm section. The music is fast paced, but somehow they manage not to blur their sound. The drum is well audible without being too much in front of the music. A big compliment for the producer, who also gives the music room to breathe. A very old school production, but it doesn’t sound out dated at all! Besides this, I also like the guitar sound (the music isn’t too much built around repetitive riffs and even has some short solo’s!) and the singer fits the music perfectly.

 

I can only say that I enjoyed the album a lot. It made my head bang and kept my attention for the whole ride (take note Metallica, good songs don’t need to be seven minutes to kick ass!). I can clearly see why Nuclear Blast signed these guys. I have two notes of criticism and that’s the lyrical content (why do people need eleven songs to say they don’t like Christians and religion? Two songs are sufficient, please discover some new areas to cover) and the song writing (try working with tempo differences and develop the vocals). Besides those two points, this is highly recommended for thrash heads!