Artist: Death Angel
Released: 1987 RATING: 4/5
The Good: Another classic Thrash album, The Ultra-Violence stands as one of the strongest albums from the original Thrash Scene. It is also something of an anomaly in the band's career; subsequent Death Angel albums would feature more diverse songs, both in terms of style and tempo. Their debut is straightforward thrash, chock-full of complex instrumental play and crushing velocity. "Kill as One" is one of a few songs that showcase singer Mark Osgueda's gnarly high-pitched screams, which are as metal as it gets. The song also happens to be really good, too, as do "Mistress of Pain", "Evil Priest", "Voracious Souls", and the super-long, riff-laden title track. Drummer Andy Galleon plays well beyond his young age here (aged 14!!!), and guitarist Rob Cavestany establishes himself among the Metal guitar elite with his skillful, yet tasteful, axe work, and is definately one reason why Death Angel stood out from their peers. As a matter of fact, the whole band is incredibly proficient. The Ultra-Violence also happens to be one of those albums that just has that unquantifiable element known to us mortals as feel; Death Angel's albums after this one were certainly more mature, well-thought-out, diverse, and produced more cleanly, but in my humble opinion, none of the other albums would sum up Death Angel quite like The Ultra-Violence. So endeared to it are Death Angel's fans that, in commemeration of The Ultra-Violence's 25th anniversary, the band re-mastered and re-released this long out-of-print masterpiece and took to the road, playing the album in its entirety on tour. It's a pretty special album.
The Bad: The production isn't that good. "Final Death" is ok, but "I.P.F.S" is kind of out of place on this eight-song album. The title track can be excellent to one if they enjoy the amazing riffs and instrumental performances on it; however, its sheer length may be hard for someone to keep interested in it, especially with the lack of vocals. But these are small details that should not keep you from getting/listening to this album.
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