Customer Reviews

Killing Season

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Death Angel is back after a four-year hiatus to kick the living snot out of bands three-quarters their age. Sounding incredibly revitalized, inspired and fresh, these guys deliver their tightly wound brand of "thrash-n-roll" on 11 blistering tracks, every one of which has some aspect to recommend it, whether it be the incredible guitar work (DA remains one of the few bands whose solos will bring a smile to your face), impassioned vocals, or punishing drums. Death Angel have always brought an aspect of "having fun", for lack of a better turn of phrase, to their work (to a lesser extent than a band like Wrathchild America did, but among those lines - remember their Kiss cover?), and it clearly shines in some unexpected moments here. The production is excellent and features a pummeling, bottom-heavy sound (someone at the knobs appreciated the bass player, so we can thankfully hear it) that rumbles through the speakers, or, as I prefer, directly into the ear cavity and into the old brainpan via a good set of headphones. I must confess that my expectations weren't high, and I purchased this because I'm duty-bound to Bay Area thrash, which I've supported since the mid-80s, but this flat out rocks, no question. Don't take the previous statement as a qualifier. This is an excellent album from a proven band. A must-have purchase for fans of Death Angel, thrash and metal, and a safe purchase for people who appreciate things on the heavier spectrum of great music in general.

When you're lucky enough to a) have a respectable career doing stuff you were playing in mom's basement 20 years ago, b) have a relatively hot modern rock producer (Rush/Foo Fighters producer Nick Raskulinecz) who is a fan of your band, and c) you can still play ferociously, you've got to take stock and take thanks to the muse. For anyone who hasn't checked in since the respectable 2004 opus _Art of Dying_, here's what you should expect: everything is better. As if you didn't expect quality - these guys - through other incarnations such as The Organization and Swarm, have always remained true to the basic mission, even if they've made slight tweaks to the presentation. Its hard to imagine any fan of true metal not giving respect to tight little twisters like the screaming "Carnival Justice," with its blues-funk breakdown twisting to an improbably good Cavestany solo, or the electronically-tweaked monster "God vs. God," which crashes down all old-school anthemic into an absolutely ripping percussion/psychadelic guitar breakdown that sounds like Incubus in a good way, winding its way briefly through the middle east before stopping to kick into the best thrash shout breakdown you've ever heard. The songwriting vs the last album is more confident, experienced, diverse and multidimensional. Musical surprises abound, like the steady, slinky mid-paced drive of "Soulless," or the masterfully woven acoustic Floydian overtones on epic closer "Resurrection Machine." Credit Raskulinecz for once again knowing just how to wring the best performances out of his band, challenging them without being domineering or unhelpful. (If you think a good producer is just a mindless knob twister, try watching Raskulinecz riling up old stick-in-the-mud fuddies like Rush, on the Rush special edition of _Snakes and Ladders_). Oh and by the way, its officially time to stop harping on Oseguda, because he absolutely rips. No longer an undisciplined shrieker, he has a command over his voice that is integral to this band's sound. Not only is there a single bad track on this album, i'll be darned if this album isn't every bit as good, maybe even better, than anything in their catalog. Seriously. It shreds that hard.

This is definitely some of the best Bay Area Thrash I have heard come out in quite some time! Like so many bands these days DA have made a comeback now that Metal is coming back (Thank God!) and nu metal and alternative grunge is dying off (Thank God again!).

DA first resurfaced in 2004 with 'The Art of Dying'. While that album was decent, overall it lacked a lot from their past works and I was a bit disappointed personally. With their new effort (Killing Season) however, DA has produced a killer album that not only equals there past works it may even well surpass anything they have ever done!

First off the songwriting is so much better (very catchy) in comparison to (TAOD). This album is definitely heavier but is also more melodic as well. Songs like 'Lord of Hate', 'Dethroned', 'Buried Alive', 'Soulless', 'God vs. God', and epic closer 'Resurrection Machine' just breathe with insperation and energy of classic bay area thrash! It is pretty old school but has enough modern touches and updated production qualities to avoid sounding dated in any way.

I highly recommended 'Killing Season' for all fans of the more melodic styled thrash metal. If you were a bit disappointed by there last effort you can easily put your fears to rest as DA delivers in a big way with this album!

With a Megadeth revival last year and a new album from Testament coming out in a few months, 2008 might well bring Bay Area Thrash back to the forefront once again. If the new Metallica is good the scene would explode! Sadly I am not expecting much from Metallica but I hope I'm wrong.....

Wow...Truth be told, I had low hopes for this release. I think I gave The Art of Dying an overrated review. This album is more of what you might of expected or wanted instead of The Art of Dying. The album as a whole and the songs individually are WAY better. There's some great musicianship, catchy riffs, tasteful solos, vocals, surprising twists, you name it. If you like Act III, you will definitely like this one! Come on, buy the album so they can go out on tour...the packaging is pretty nice. It has a cardboard sleeve over the jewel case, nice intricate artwork. The inside booklet folds out to a mini poster of the album artwork. cool. old skool. You know the new Metallica is going to stink, so buy this and feel better NOW.

Another great album from Death Angel. They are truly back. Act III is one of my all time favorite albums. Not sure yet if this one is as complete of an album as Act III, but it is definelty growing on me.
This album is far better than The Art of Dying and has some tracks that are classic Death Angel. Dethroned is one of my favorite tracks.
A must have for any Death Angel or thrash metal fan.
Great album.

Killing Season grows on you very quick. Lots of variation from song to song. I think this one replaces Act III as my favorite Death Angel album. Keep up the great work gentlemen. How about playing the Blank Club again?

Like the title says....old school thrash is it.Hopefully to teach bands like avenged sevenfold a lesson or two.This cd is great at the first listen.It put some new hope and blood into my veins for music nowadays.I am tired of this over produced generic rock and metal!Now listen up boys and girls,Buy this cd,listen and Rock!

WOW!IM' VERY IMPRESSED SOMETIMES IT TAKES ME A TIME OR TWO,TO LIKE THE MUSIC.BUT NOT HERE,FROM START TO FINISH THIS CD IS AWESOME.LIKED EVERY SONG AND IT'S GOOD TO HAVE ONE OF THE BEST THRASH METAL BANDS OF THE 80'S BACK IN THE FOLD.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS CD TO ANYONE THAT LIKES METAL.THERE BACK BAD AS EVER.

I liked these guys for years. Loved 'Ultra Violence', wasnt into 'Frolic', loved 'Act III'. they split for many years and came back a few years ago with an average disc.

Picked this up and again, mediocre at best. the growth has stagnated somehow. The production and sound is nowhere near as good as on 'Act III' which is to be expected I suppose seeing this isnt on a major label, but Exodus makes some great sounding discs and they are on the same label. There isnt much that happens in the songs. Straight forward, mid paced numbers with the occassional hook, but something isnt the same. Lyrically its pretty weak. Has the feel of a 'play it VERY safe' disc.

There are some good tunes though..'Sonic Beatdown', 'God vs. God', 'Buried Alive' and 'Noose' are decent and crankable. But again, i wont pick it up a lot. There is just nothing new going on. They have been practicing though as there are some excellent guitar solo's on here. I just miss the melody and more complex structures of their older stuff.

Get it if you dont mind the Same Ole'..

As a die-hard Death Angel fan, I thought "The Art of Dying" would be hard to top, but I thought the same with TOAD compared to their original releases, and TOAD was a cut above. To my delight, "Killing Season is a brutal, though melodic, extremely well-played and well-engineered CD that really does offer Death Angel at their best! I won't repeat the track list, but suffice to say that in my opinion, this is their strongest release to date (and I have all of them, even from the Swarm and Organization days, as well as Rob Cavestany's solo CD). IMO, "Killing Season" is a MUST for any thrash fan, especially those who enjoy the distinctive Bay Area thrash sound. The sound itself is powerful, the band is tight, and the lyrics (available on their website) are thought-provoking; I can hardly wait to see them live in LA next month playing tracks off this latest offering. This band is unique in that most of them (all but Ted, a long-time fan who now takes Gus Pepa's place on guitar!) are related, and the familial ease with which they interact really comes through on stage as well as on the CD. It's easy to see and hear that they enjoy playing music together, most especially live. I can't recommend "killing Season" highly enough! It's all that thrash metal should be, executed with maturity, skill, passion, and conviction.