DEATH ANGEL — Frolic Through the Park (review)

DEATH ANGEL — Frolic Through the Park album cover Album · 1988 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Frolic Through the Park" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based thrash metal act Death Angel. The album was released through Enigma Records in July 1988. It´s the successor to "The Ultra-Violence" from 1987. The original vinyl version featured 10 tracks (9 originals and a cover of "Cold Gin" by Kiss), while the CD version features the "Devil's Metal" bonus track. Some later reissues feature all the CD tracks and three additional bonus tracks. A promotional video was shot for "Bored".

Stylistically "Frolic Through the Park" continues the heavy/speed/thrash metal sound of "The Ultra-Violence (1987)". While Death Angel is widely considered a thrash metal act, "Frolic Through the Park" isn´t the most thrashy release from those days. It features just as many speed and traditional heavy metal elements as thrash metal ditto, and there are also alternative metal leanings (before such a term was even coined) like the use of funky rhythms and riffs ("Bored" and "Open Up" are examples of that). Lead vocalist Mark Osegueda is a skilled singer, who can sing both melodic and more raw vocals, and the rest of the band are well playing too.

"Frolic Through the Park" features an organic, raw, and unpolished sound production. The album does not sound like it cost a lot of money to record. I may be wrong but it´s not the best sounding thrash metal release from that time. As mentioned the material on the album is quite varied and it´s both a strength and a weakness. If you´re looking for stylistic consistency and well functioning album flow, this album does not apply. If you on the other hand are looking to be challenged and enjoy variation and stylistic experiments on a thrash metal release, "Frolic Through the Park" could be your poison.

Personlly I´m not sure I find the experimentation and diversity/inconsistency of the material to be other than oddly charming. I would have prefered a more stylistic consistent release. There´s nothing wrong with the quality of the songwriting or the musical performances though and overall "Frolic Through the Park" is a good quality release. To my ears Death Angel still sound like they are searching for their signature sound, which actually isn´t at all odd, as they were still very young in 1988, and most band´s their age wouldn´t have been signed yet, and would probably still be working on demo material. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.
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