Kev Rowland
Angel were discovered playing in a bar by Gene Simmons, who promptly convinced Casablanca to sign them to provide a totally different image to that of Kiss. A friend had introduced me to the joys of the painted ones, and we both wondered what Angel were like so went out and bought an album each. While I had ‘On Earth As It Is In Heaven’, my mate had ‘Helluva Band’, and on close musical inspection it was obvious who had the better album. It must be twenty years since I last heard this, and I am indebted to Nick who lent it to me. I had been searching for it on the web (typical, I have since found one for sale), but when doing the index I saw that Nick had reviewed it in the past. An email later and I was playing “The Fortune” and had been transported back in time. So is this just a nostalgia trip on my part or is it any good? The answer has to be certainly the latter. While the rhythm section provided the background, and Punky Meadows the guitar (he was supposedly the inspiration for Zappa’s “Punky’s Whips”) the two highlights of the band had to be keyboard player Gregg Giuffria and vocalist Frank Dimino. Gregg is the only member of the band to have surfaced since their demise, in both Giuffria and House Of Lords. The music was strongly based around his keyboards, giving the hard rock band a much more pomp sound. Frank had one of the highest vocals in rock, more in common with Jon Anderson than any other hard rock singer. The combination of these factors with music that was very melodic although not mainstream gave Angel their own distinctive sound.
Sadly they never gained the fame that they deserved although they did have a few hit singles in the US. Apparently Frank and drummer Barry Brandt got back together and recorded an album under the Angel moniker in 1999, but it came to nothing.