Nuclear Blast Americ
2004
The Art Of Dying
About This Album
Leave it to Bay Area thrash metal pioneers Death Angel to name their recording rebirth, 14 years in the making, The Art of Dying. Oh, the irony! Never ones to play it straight, Death Angel, like their first wave of thrash inspiration, Exodus, shocked their aging fans when they courageously shrugged off the years of rust and returned to active metal duty in 2004. And because they were merely teenagers during their first run, most of the band are amazingly still in their early 30s! More importantly, they've done so in style. The Art of Dying, even while bypassing the often Byzantine arrangements heard on the group's first two albums, manages to maintain the songwriting focus of their third (and heretofore last) effort, Act III, while arguably providing a better all-around thrash experience than the latter. The race is a close one, but there's no denying that everything about The Art of Dying's frenetic, scratchy-riffed first track (requisite acoustic guitar intro notwithstanding) "Thrown to the Wolves," as well as the brilliantly concussive highlight "Thicker Than Blood," positively screams "old-school" thrash. In fact, except for a few very discreet trad-metal tricks, and the odd hardcore vocal or two snuck into "Five Steps to Freedom," "The Devil Incarnate," and "Prophecy," so does everything else on display here.
Track List (try tracks 3,7 and 9)

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