Death Angel - Humanicide (2019) [FLAC] {Ward Records GQCS-90716}
Release Info:
RLSDATE: 2025/09/20 RTLDATE: 2019/05/31
GENRE: Heavy Metal SiZE: 447 MB
SOURCE: CD RUNTiME: 48:44
RiPPER: EAC 1.8 ENCODER: FLAC 1.5
DRiVE: ASUS SW-16D1X-U ORiGiN: Japan
RELEASE: Ward Records GQCS-90716
MATRiX: GQCS-90716 -RC01- IFPI LZ49
with log/cue/nfo/m3u/sfv/300 dpi scans.
AngryMetalGuy (dot) com adds. . .
Despite some understandable fits and starts as they shook off the
cobwebs of a fourteen year lay off from 1990 to 2004, Death Angel
has had a pretty successful second act on the metal stage. Releases
like The Dream Calls for Blood and 2016s The Evil Divide showcased a
seasoned band comfortable with their place in the thrasherverse and
still turning out engaging material true to their glory days. Those
albums are as good or better than almost anything the "Big Four" have
released lately, and there's been growing reasons to look upon Death
Angel as one of the few survivors of the 80s Bay Area thrash wave
still capable of cutting your throat with an ill-tempered riff. That
brings us to their ninth album, Humanicide. With the same line up
holding steady since 2010, nothing much has changed. There's still a
balance between old school thrash and a modern sound, and the band
still dabbles in traditional metal concepts and very subtle prog
elements. It's still meat n' taters thrash with a high accessibility
factor though, and it still sounds like Death Angel.
The band puts their best foot forward on the opening title track,
which is a scorching example of 80s thrash filtered through a 2019
prism. The talented tandem of Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar festoon
the song with razor-sharp riffs, vaguely NWoBHM harmonies and enough
manic energy to get anyone fookin' hostile. It reminds me of recent
Kreator in how it merges classic thrash with traditional metal ideas
for an interesting hybrid that still kicks in the minimum number of
teeth required by the Uniform Thrash Protocols. It's a grand opener
and an album highlight. "Divine Defector" dials up the anger, going
into full assault mode with crazed riffage and blast beats as Mark
Osegueda defies Father Time, doing more insane wailing than anyone
his age ever should. It's easily the heaviest tune here and it almost
feels like the band is making a statement that they can still thrash
like they did on their legendary debut. "Aggressor" is another high
point, blending the band’s classic thrash pedigree with modern ideas.
It's ballsy, catchy, and the quiet, restrained segment mid-song makes
the heavy riffs that follow feel all the more substantial.
Elsewhere they deliver the punky, quasi-D-beat gallop of "I Came for
Blood," and the album's centerpiece, "Immortal Behated," which is a
subdued mood piece featuring elegant piano lines and stellar guitar-
work rivaling that of Bay Area contemporaries, Testament. The former
tune is simplistic fun while the latter offers a nice tempo-shift and
stylistic change up as the album approaches the halfway point. In
contrast, later cut "Alive and Screaming" is one of the purest
examples of the band's thrash roots. There are some issues here
though. "Revelation Song" is like an attempt to incorporate Black
Label Society's hard rock swagger, but the biker groove doesn't
completely work for them. "Ghost of Me" is thrashy and pissed off,
but doesn’t really stick, and though closer "Of Rats and Men" isn't
bad, it feels like a partial recycling of the ideas that worked so
well on "Lost" from The Evil Divine.
As enjoyable as much of Humanicide is, the material feels a bit less
impactful than what the band conjured on the last few platters.
There's no bad song, just fewer very good ones. The ultra-modern,
polished production is also an issue. It's not new to Death Angel, as
the last album had a similar sound, but the guitars feel too tame,
lacking the nasty crunch and bite I expect from thrash. Sound aside,
the band delivers music-wise. This is a highly talented, veteran
ensemble and the guitar-work is out of this world. Apart from the
expected hyper-speed riffs, you get gentle Flamenco plucking and
dazzling solo-work. Mark Osegueda is an ageless wonder on vocals,
with a voice that seem to get better with age. Whether screaming,
snarling or crooning soulfully, the man has pipes til Sunday and he
powers the material along as few others could. The whole band is
insanely tight and that allows them to explore new elements while
remaining locked into their core sound.
Humancide is another quality release from a band I've come to expect
only good things from. The band takes a few chances and most of them
work in their favor. This may not be up to the standards of their
recent releases, but it's still a diverse, entertaining platter sure
to please fans of thrash and traditional metal. Some old wolves can
learn new tricks.
Ripper's Notes:
Even though EAC will tell you if there are any problems with a rip, I
always go back and listen to my rips before I prepare them for
upload. In addition to verifying the integrity of the rip, it also
gives me fresh ears for these very Ripper's Notes, as I may not have
listened to an album in year before ripping it to share.
As I was listening to this one, I was thinking to myself, I don't
remember this album being so bland. But, then I realized, I was
listening to this rip as background music while I was at work, not
the ideal environment. So, I turned it up, way up. There we go,
this is the Death Angel I grew up with (though I didn't know the guys
they were from one town over, and local legends already when I was a
young teen). The moral of this story is, PLAY LOUD.
If you chose to share this, or any other release, elsewhere, please
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