Customer Reviews

Darkness Descends

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Oh yes, this is sheer brutalizing thrash right here. The only album that can stand along side Schizophrenia and Beneath the Remains as one of the top 'extreme' thrash album, and definitely the heaviest thrash album your gonna hear that hasn't got any death metal flavoring to it.(And it stands up to lots of old-school DM as well. Listen to Covenant, than this. Darkness Descends absolutely obliterates it) Not quite as endlessly fast as Reign in Blood, but pretty close and definitely heavier.(Possibly the heaviest album in the world at the time of it's release, though Seven Churches is very close) Completely ferocious guitar tone and a true drumming onslaught from the legendary Gene Hoglan. Solid vox from Doty as well. Nice vicious snarling that isn't overly theatrical, though it may take some getting used to for some. Of course, heaviness/intensity are hardly the only, or even one of the main measurements in the quality of a metal album. Fortunately this has got brilliant riff writing, solid songwriting and better than average vocals. A total thrash classic.

Only seven tracks here, but nothing comes even close to being filler. The songs all have tons and tons of different riffs, far more than your average thrash album. Leads are given less emphasis, which is fine as lead work tends to just distract in ultra-heavy and fast thrash.(Though what they do have is pretty good, if not terribly distinctive or memorable) The Hunger of the Undead is definitely the weakest thing here, but it gets the job done. Not filler by any means. The Burning of Sodom is probably the best track despite the very silly lyrics. Probably the fastest thing here as well, but it's got clear, well-defined riffs and a rather catchy chorus. Nice break in the middle too. The title track and Death is Certain are the next best ones, though the title tracks takes a bit too long to get going. Death is Certain has probably the best chorus on the album, which is full of choruses which are surprisingly memorable considering the genre.(they resemble Sepultura in the quality) Black Prophecies is a bit slower and more deliberate than most of the album, but it still keeps up the intensity. A bit too repetitive, but it's still a solid piece. They crank it back up for the closer Perish in Flames, which reminds of the opening 2 tracks.(which, needless to say, is a good thing)

Well, there isn't that much I can say about this. Just track down a copy. Might wanna check out Time Does Not Heal as well, especially if you like proggy thrash.(though it defintely isn't as good as this)

What do you know about Dark Angel? The only thing many metal fans know of Dark Angel is their drummer Gene Hoglan has since pounded the skins for numerous other bands like Strapping Young Lad, Death and Testament.

Dark Angel were once the only band in the world who could scare Slayer. Heavier, at times faster and more technical, and definitely darker than the Slaytanic ones, Dark Angel missed the bus to the relative big time by being too damn difficult for most thrash fans to handle. You see, there were none of the friendly riffs Metallica and their clones produced, no soaring or sing along vocals a la Anthrax or Helloween, and definitely no power ballads like "Fade To Black" or "Armed and Dangerous".

Instead, listeners are assaulted with a maelstrom of riffs, machine gun drumming and straightforward shouts punctuated with piercing screams. On first listen, it's a jarring, caustic blur, almost too daunting to consider a second airing. It's almost impossible to keep up with vocalist Don Doty, even when following the lyric sheet. So many riffs fly past it's impossible to take them all in first time. The drum patterns are what we now come to expect from Gene Hoglan- surprisingly complex for the speed he plays at. And the speed is utterly unrelenting. Each track seems to be faster than the one before.

Speed is also the band's undoing. While there's no doubt they were tight, they were just too fast and too heavy for 1986 production values. A lot of the riffs get lost in the mix because of a sound that is nowhere near thick enough. It gives the finished product a slightly watered down feel.

While Hoglan is now a hired gun of sorts, back in his Dark Angel days he proved himself an excellent songwriter, a rare thing for drummers especially in the 80s. He had a hand in the best tracks on the album, co-writing most tracks with guitarist Jim Durkin. Lyrically, he wrote what would have been 10 minute epics, or they would have been if the band played at a more casual tempo. At a time when the average thrash fare was comic book Satanism or over exaggerated violence, Hoglan was penning more thoughtful works. "The Burning Of Sodom" is a reworking of the biblical tale of the fabled city destroyed because of depravity and perversion, which would scare the hell out of your Sunday school teacher. "Darkness Descends" is a tale of the end of the world, seeing nuclear holocaust as the biblical version of Armageddon. Just when you start to think the album is all bible stories, along comes "Hunger Of The Undead". It's a simple tale. A soul dies, but then finds out there's no heaven or hell, because there is no God. "Black Prophecies" takes an in-depth look at Nostradamus' prophecies, and "Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)" beat Metallica to the punch when it came to a mind trapped in an immobile, uncommunicative body.

If you think "Reign In Blood" is the final word in thrash metal, listen to this and be prepared to have the foundations on which that belief is built crumble.

That's right, the first time I heard this album (and every time after) I get knocked on my f*cking ass and I'm so enthralled by the almighty thrashiness and unforgiving SPEED that is this album I am at a loss for words. When I listen to this album I mean I get sucked into another friggin' world I tell ya! I almost lose touch with reality so much that I can't even physically headbang! Ok ok so I'm exaggerating a tad but you get the point.

I know everyone knows Gene Hoglan and his obvious greatness but honestly he's not necessarily the best part of this album or even what makes the album, it's much more than that. It's the whole band here, the DUAL shredding guitarists Eric Meyer and Jim Durkin (both underrated), the thumping bass that actually IS pretty audible and heavy, and Don Doty is a damn underrated vocalist, I wish we heard from the man more often. He reminds me of a more American version of Mille Petrozza from Kreator, who's certainly one of my favorite Thrash vocalists ever.

As for the songs, I mean these are clearly the fastest songs ever produced by man! You just gotta love the line in the title track "The city is guilty, the crime is life, the sentence is death...DARKNESS DESCENDS!" Just classic...f*cking classic I tell ya! The next track 'The Burning of Sodom' that is a hefty meaty slab of thrash evil enough to satisfy the hunger of even the biggest metalhead. I have to say though that Merciless Death is my personal fave here, it just has that pulsating, burning rhythm that gets my blood flowing? What can I say? Dark Angel throws a little wisdom your way with the song entitled "Death Is Certain (Life is not)" HELLO??? THAT'S SO TRUE! Just listen to the song and you'll find out. See, us metal folk aren't that stupid, we have some intelligence. Another highlight is the multi-faceted epic thrash masterpiece
of Black Prophecies which in its 8:29 min length keeps the song fresh from start to finish baby! Once again I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty specifics of the songs, you'll have to find that out for yourself!

In conclusion this is indeed the epitome of the soundtrack to the imminent apocalypse and you can bet your sweet ass that you'll see me kickin' back in my shelter with a brew and blasting this album while it's taking place wreaking havoc on humanity.

Recommendation? GET IT NOW!!!! I mean is it the be all end all of thrash? I'm not so sure, however, it is more than essential listening for those of you who claim to be 'metal'. Yeah it only has 7 songs and it's only 35 mins long but trust me, it's amazing to say the least.

There are seven studio tracks listed on DARKNESS DESCENDS. There are actually eight. The intro to the album's title track is actually an instrumental called "Harbinger Of Doom". In an interview I heard years ago on the radio, drummer Gene Hoglan stated that the track's title was left off of the album's jacket when it was pressed. That aside, DARKNESS DESCENDS is, in my opinion, the greatest thrash metal album ever made. Yes, I think it's even better than Slayer's REIGN IN BLOOD. Don't let the album's song titles fool you (i.e. "Merciless Death", "Perish In Flames", "Death Is Certain....."). The lyrics, for the most part, are smarter than anything Slayer could ever come up with. If you're gonna read the lyric sheet, you'll probably need a dictionary. The majority of the songs are very fast. They're also well thought-out. The drumming is amazing. Hoglan and guitarist Jim Durkin were a phenomenal songwriting team. There are tons of great guitar riffs. Rob Yahn's bass guitar can be heard clearly in the mix. If you can pick out Tom Araya's bass playing on REIGN IN BLOOD, you must have dog-like hearing. Rob Yahn chose to leave the band right after the album was recorded. He was replaced by Mike Gonzalez. Each song is a unique entity unto itself, yet the album flows nicely.

Despite the greatness of this album, Dark Angel weren't particularly successful. Here's why:

1) They were dubbed "Slayer clones", a tag they did not deserve. If anything, Slayer was influenced by Dark Angel, not the other way around. Slayer mentioned guitarist Jim Durkin on the Thank You list from their 1983 debut album, SHOW NO MERCY (look it up if you have that album). Prior to joining Dark Angel in 1985, Gene Hoglan was a roadie for Slayer. He came up with the idea of the "Evil" gang-shout during the chorus of "Evil Has No Boundaries." Hoglan was also an influence on Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo. Slayer used to play Dark Angel songs during rehearsals. When it came to performing live, Dark Angel were just as aggressive as Slayer. They were clearly scared of Dark Angel, and therefore felt the need to slam them in the metal press. DARKNESS DESCENDS came out about a month after REIGN IN BLOOD, so it would seem logical to assume that Dark Angel were copying Slayer. Nothing could be further from the truth though.

2) They were unable to tour properly behind the album. Singer Don Doty was having personal problems. As the story goes, he got into a car accident and didn't have insurance. Plus, according to Gene Hoglan, Doty had problems with his timing when the band performed live. Apparently, Doty had to watch guitarist Eric Meyer to make sure that he jumped in at the right point of any given song. It seems that Don liked the idea of being in a band (making it easier for him to get women), but he had a bad habit of missing rehearsals. When Dark Angel toured with Possessed in 1987, they had a different singer.

3) They put out two more albums after DARKNESS, and neither one measured up. Constant line-up changes also hurt the band. By the time they put their final album out in 1991, all of the band's founding members were gone.

Don't be discouraged though. With DARKNESS DESCENDS, Dark Angel shined brighter than any other thrash band ever has. By the way, I don't hate Slayer. I just think that Dark Angel put out a better album in 1986.

Dark Angel was one of those bands that didn't get much respect in the metal world, simply because their name had a bad reputation attached to it. By this I mean, they were considered "Slayer Clones" because this album was released sometime shortly after Reign in Blood. (Somebody already reviewed the reasons for their downfall in another review).

Reign in Blood used to be my favorite speed metal album. After I heard this, that isn't so true anymore. One thing that I believe made this album better was the variety it had. Reign in Blood, got repetitive to me, and forced me to no longer listen to it. This album pretty much took Reign in Blood, added some more riffs, mixed it with twisted and wicked vocals, blended it with chaotic and brutal drums, and spit it back out with pure attitude.

This album is everything speed metal stands for, but Dark Angel brutalizies it to the tenth degree.

Definetly a must for any old school speed metal fan.

I'm kicking myself for not picking up this CD sooner. Back in 1986, Dark Angel were one of the best Bay area Thrash Metal bands around. Being a lifelong Metal fan, Darkness Descends is a Thrash Metal Masterpiece. This CD still remains as populartoday as it was in 86. There are some who think Slayer's Reign in Blood album was the No.1 Thrash Metal album of all time. I've listened to both and in my opinion, Darkness Descends edges out Reign in Blood for that honor. Back to Darkness Descends. There are fast songs and slow songs. I personally enjoy every song on the CD. Gene Hoglan is one of the best skinsman alive and Don Doty's vocals are awsesome. These days, trying to track down any of Dark Angel's releases can be expensive and time consuming, but well worth it. The only ones I don't have is We Have Arrived and Leave Scars. Dark Angel's music still kick ass today. Buy this one if you can find a copy.

This album ranks as one of the best metal albums of the 80s. It has everything you could ask for - fast furious thrash riffs, insane vocals, manic drums, and a howling twin guitar attack on every track. "Perish in flames" is a real classic - it thrashes along nicely until mid-song when lead guitarist Eric Meyer unleashes the most mind-blowing guitar solo I've ever had the pleasure to hear. But even this can't compare to album highlight "The Burning of Sodom", which lives up to its name with what must rank as one of the fastest and greatest thrash riffs of all time, crazed drumming from Gene Hoglan, and some truly demented screaming from vocalist Don Doty. If Hell has a soundtrack, then this is it!

What can you say about a classic CD like this? It's hard to put into words. Dark Angel is not only a full-on Thrash Metal band, they are a Dark Thrash band! The music is dark and oh so heavy! Every single song will have your head bobbing up and down to the beat of Gene Hoglan's machine gun drumming! Don Dotty's tormented screams are enough to make you feel like you are being burned in sodom! I certainly felt the darkess of this Metal classic come crashing down on my ears with an intensity I have never heard in any CD! If you enjoy early Slayer, early Metallica and Venom, buy this CD!

Dark Angel's harrowing thrash classic, has returned! Fully remastered and still lethal after all these years. Superbly constructed, expertly conceived and out and out raging, this disc was criminally over looked and WAY ahead of its' time. The Judge Dread character takes center stage on the title track, a harrowing, intense thrashing metal masterpiece. On "death Is Certain, Life Is Not", assisted suicide is the main subject, with a powerful mid-paced thrash attack raging to hammer the point home. But the real highlight and an all time great thrash track, is the merciless "Perish In Flames". Incredibly well done and nearly flawless in its' execution, the song rages for its' 4 minute running time. No doubt about the greatness of this incredible monster of a disc. Featuring the awesome drum master/god Gene Hogland raging with contolled fury and precision. The man is just a breath taking drummer. Buy this incredible cd and hear what you missed the first time around.

Humanity is guilty, the crime is life, the sentence is death, DARKNESS will DECEND !!!! Mind blowing lyrics, intense "screaming" guitars and Gene Hoglan - master of the double bass !!!! To bad they no longer exsist.