Fallen Angels is a thrash band that is based
out of Seattle, Washington, and is releasing their third album, “World In Decay”,
in 2015. Despite the recent surge of popularity for thrash, this is a band that
fell through the cracks for me, having never even heard of them until this
album came along. If their old material is anything like this album, that was a
mistake, as “World In Decay” is an excellent offering of thrash. Fallen Angels
is not the heaviest or fastest thrash band out there, but they are very skilled
songwriters, and extremely competent musicians as well. “World In Decay” would fit
well in the Bay Area scene of the 1980s, when there were a lot of distinct
bands that were able to put their own spin on thrash. Much like those groups,
Fallen Angels’ approach includes a heavy dose of melody. While this is
presented by both the guitars and the vocals, the bass playing is actually where
a good chunk of the melody is present. Fallen Angels’ bass player always has an
interesting line for you, often times independent of what the guitars are
playing. In fact, his style is very reminiscent of Cliff Burton’s bass playing,
where the bass lines would pop out as needed, and perfectly complement the
music.
One of the reasons “World In Decay” is so
enjoyable is because it feels very deliberately crafted. The band knows how to
take advantage of common thrash tropes and apply them in ways that don’t sound cliché,
but are still incredibly effective. Their songs are memorable, in large part
because they don’t sacrifice catchiness for extremity. Fallen Angels is willing
to experiment in a variety of ways, such as on the intro of “Forsaken Existence”.
This song opens with some acoustic guitars mixing with distorted ones, and then
enters into some fantastic power metal-esque leads before finally erupting into
a thrasher of a song. Additionally, quite a few songs on this album make use of
riffs that have strong punk influence.
Nearly every track on this album could be
considered a highlight, but my favourites are “Fire At Eden’s Gate” and “Into
The Abyss”. The former song is great because it opens with a mini-bass solo,
and also has some impressive lead guitar soloing later on. “Into The Abyss” is
not only the most memorable song, but its galloping pace is also very
headbanging inducing. On the whole, “World In Decay” is a very impressive
album, thanks in large part to the stellar musicianship and attention to detail
in the songwriting. Hopefully this album breaks the band through in a much
bigger way, because they are deserving of a lot of attention based on this
album!
Highlights
"Fire At Eden's Gate"
"Into The Abyss"
Final Rating
4.3/5 or 86%.
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