Up and coming thrash fanatics Archangel A.D. are preparing to unleash a fierce sounding heavy metal assault upon the metal world with the release of their new album, “Casus Belli.” Formed around 2015, this young group of passionate metal maniacs from Edinburg, Texas take their extreme music making talents to the next level and offer up an album full of blistering sounding thrash.
Now, I have come across this band before and I actually reviewed their debut EP back when it was first released. I remember hearing a group of young and hungry metal musicians who were trying to craft a merciless thrash metal sound. Also, I was really impressed by how this band took their time to write some clever compositions. On this new album Archangel A.D. has definitely become more polished in terms of songwriting, and the album’s overall production is very impressive. You hear the band add more dynamic compositions and throw in some different musical elements in attempt to show listeners how they are not just another one-dimensional worship thrash band.
The album contains nine tracks and I believe listeners will be able to take away a lot more than just simple repetitive palm muted riffs and generic thrash metal arrangements. For example, the band hits hard with the opening track, “Bet on Death,” which does a tremendous job getting the adrenaline flowing by throwing down a heavy dosage of headbanging riffs. On the second track, “Casus Belli,” the band starts to mess around with different tempos and I like how they transition between the different arrangements throughout the song. Also, the lead guitar playing is extremely fluid and gives the song an extra boost of vibrant sounding energy.
I have noticed over the years that a fair amount young thrash bands tend to get caught up in the speed war and end up writing very sloppy riffs. Archangel A.D. seems to be very aware of when to turn up the heat and when to lay down a slower sounding riff to complement the singer’s high energy vocal parts. Songs like, “Beacons” and “Celestion,” flow with a wicked sounding synergy that perfectly gets the job done. Even though this type of thrash metal sound has been hammered out quite often over the years by numerous bands, I like how Archangel A.D. injects such raw energy into their sound to give it that little extra something to help them stand out.
Songs that didn’t fit the typical thrash metal mold like, “Pluto-s Lament” and “Sangre de las Montañas,” were great additions and showed the creative mindset that seems to thrive within this band. The atmospheric sounding instrumental piece, “Pluto-s Lament,” was one of my favorite tracks and it allowed the bass player to have a certain amount of freedom to explore this vast musical landscape with plenty of free space to add some pleasant sounding bass riffs.
In the end, I was impressed by how much Archangel A.D. has grown as a band since their debut EP. This is a band that does not sit around and expected the metal world to just hand them everything because they play badass sounding thrash metal. These musicians are dedicated to their craft and “Casus Belli,” is a call to all metal fans around the world that Archangel A.D. is a band ready to make an impact. Honestly, it brings me great joy to see a band continue to triumph and improve with each new release. I hope Archangel A.D. continues to waive the thrash metal flag for many years to come!
Check out the video for the band's 2019 single "Eventide" below (Also the new album drops July 23, 2021):
Archangel A.D. Facebook:
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