DARK ANGEL — Darkness Descends (review)

DARK ANGEL — Darkness Descends album cover Album · 1986 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Darkness Descends" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US thrash metal act Dark Angel. The album was released through Combat Records in November 1986, almost to date two years after the release of their debut full-length studio album "We Have Arrived (1984)". Since the debut album there´s been a lineup change as drummer Jack Schwartz has been replaced by former Slayer drum tech Gene Hoglan.

Compared to "We Have Arrived (1984)", the music style on "Darkness Descends" has changed in a significantly more aggressive and fast-paced direction. The traditional heavy metal elements from the debut are gone and "Darkness Descends" is a 100% raw and aggressive thrash metal release (not completely unlike "Reign in Blood (1986)" by Slayer or "Pleasure to Kill (1986)" by Kreator). The addition of Gene Hoglan to the ranks, has provided Dark Angel with a much more intriguing and tight rhythm section, than the case was on "We Have Arrived (1984)". His fast and precise drumming style and the powerful bass playing by Rob Yahn (who left the band right after the album was finished) drive the aggressive and fast-paced guitar riffing forward in an incredibly powerful fashion. Dark Angel were at this point a very well playing act. Lead vocalist Don Doty delivers a raw and aggressive performance that suits the music perfectly. He doesn´t have the most distinct sounding voice and his staccato delivery is pretty typical for the genre, but his performance is both passionate and convincing.

The material on the 7 track, 35:22 minutes long album is very effective and for the most part furiously fast-paced and aggressive, but tracks like "Hunger of the Undead" and "Black Prophecies" do take the pace down to a mid-paced heavy groove, so while "Darkness Descends" certainly isn´t the most varied thrash metal album out there, Dark Angel do understand the importance of changing pace to keep things at least a bit varied. So the songwriting is inspired and the musicianship strong, but that´s not always enough if you don´t pack your music in a powerful and raw sound production. That´s thankfully the case here though as "Darkness Descends" features a very powerful, raw, and organic sounding production, which suits the music perfectly.

"Darkness Descends" is arguably one of the most relentlessly aggressive and fast-paced thrash metal releases from the mid-80s and for fans of the more brutal, raw, and frenetic part of the genre this is mandatory listening. The album is pretty much one-dimensionally aggressive, so expect very little with resemblance to melody here. If you come to the album with the right expectations you´ll be met with an onslaught of great aggressive thrash metal tunes though. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.
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Nightfly wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I love this album. One of the best thrash albums I bought back in the 80's.
Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Still sounds good today.
UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I´m actually not a huge Dark Angel fan, but this particular album is crushing. Damn it´s great....
Unitron wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Great review for a great album, this and Time Does Not Heal are my favorite Dark Angel albums.

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