Kev Rowland For those unaware of their history, Death Angel were formed back in 1982 in San Francisco, and at one time every member of the band was a blood relative. Lead guitarist Rob Cavestany is the only person still there, and when he formed the band, he was only 14! Lead singer Mark Osegueda didn’t join until a few years later, but the two of them have appeared on every Death Angel release. They will probably always be best remembered for their 1987 debut ‘The Ultra-Violence’ and their third album, ‘Act III’, but Death Angel are one of those bands who don’t know what it is like to release a bad album. Apparently, they are seen as an influence by Metallica, shame we can’t say the same for those guys.

Second guitarist Ted Anguilar joined when the band reformed in 2001, while the rhythm section of Damien Sisson (bass), Will Carroll (drums) both joined in 2009, so by the time of this 2016 album they already had plenty of road miles plus some albums behind them. Guys, the word for the day is “thrash”, which has been associated with these guys throughout their whole career and they see no reason at all to change tack now. In 2018 I was fortunate enough to see these guys support Sepultura, and for me they were the band of the night. Old favourites were aired alongside numbers from this album such as opener “The Moth”, and they certainly stood up well among the likes of “Thrashers”. They know how to slow it down, such as on “Father of Lies” where there is a delicate and restrained bridge and guitar solo, but this is all about thrash metal and putting the hammer down, and when they do there are few who can touch them.

They may not have reached the heights of bands they inspired, but they have stayed true to the faith and this is yet another great example of Death Angel showing everyone they are still here and are refusing to go away, and if they want to use acoustic guitar to provide an emphasis they will!

UMUR "The Evil Divide" is the 8th full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Death Angel. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in May 2016. It´s the successor to "The Dream Calls for Blood" from 2013 and features the same lineup as it´s predecessor. Rob Cavestany (guitars), Mark Osegueda (vocals), Ted Aguilar (guitars), Damien Sisson (bass), Will Carroll (drums).

Stylistically the music on "The Evil Divide" more or less continues the powerful thrash metal style of "The Dream Calls for Blood (2013)". Death Angel is an arch typical US thrash metal act and while they occasionally throw in some melodic singing and guitars, you pretty much know what you´re gonna get from the minute that "The Moth" opens the album. Razor sharp thrash metal riffing, a powerful pounding rhythm section, and Mark Osegueda´s raw powerful vocals in front. Osegueda is a top notch vocalist and his skills are beyond your regular staccato singing thrash metal singer. This guy can sing, and while he never applies mainstream oriented clean singing to the music on "The Evil Divide", there is always a melodic sensibility to the way he sings, and often also memorable melody lines featured in the music. The best example of this is probably the melodic and atmospheric "Lost", but it´s true for all tracks on the album.

The material on the 11 track, 50:31 minutes long album is well written and memorable. Two spins and I was able to remember each track on the album. That´s a pretty high catchiness factor for a thrash metal release. Highlights include "The Moth", "It Can't Be This", and "Breakaway" (great riot gang backing vocals on this one), but it´s actually a bit pointless mentioning highlights when the quality of the material is as consistently high as it is here. "The Evil Divide" also features a powerful, clear, and detailed sounding production, so upon conclusion it´s a high quality release through and through. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.