DEATH ANGEL – “Sonic German Beatdown/Live In Germany” Rages With Raw Thrash Metal!
DEATH ANGEL – released Sonic German Beatdown – Live In Germany on July 28, 2009, on Nuclear Blast Records. This marks the first “official” live Death Angel album, due to the input and certification from the band. One other live Death Angel album does exist, it it titled – Fall From Grace, released back in 1990 on Enigma Records. From what I have read in print over the years: due to no input from the band, coupled with Death Angel changing labels and no trademark logo of Death Angel on the album artwork, Fall From Grace doesn’t get recognized as “official”. The tiny sticker on this CD’s outer plastic packaging even states: “The first official live release from Bay Area’s masters of Thrash!”
This live concert was recorded on the 26th of May, 2007, at Rock Hard Festival in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The intro has some dude introducing Death Angel to the Thrash rabid fans… I don’t understand German, the only words I do make out from this introduction is “Bay Area” and “F’n Death Angel”. A pretty cool introduction nonetheless, I can hear the fans just getting ultra psyched for a night of Thrash Metal anarchy. Nothing in the world beats hearing some old school, live, Thrash Metal… especially from a band that, in their own right, helped define this sound. Sonic German Beatdown is raw, this recording never went to a studio to become a polished and shiny perfect product. RAW IS THE LAW!!
I always like the live albums that keep the live rhetoric intact, between the lead vocalist and the fans. That’s what F’n live Metal is all about… the excitement that a lead vocalist can incite amongst the masses, just by asking the fans – “are you ready motherfu**ers!” and stating “you guys are F’n beautiful man” is Metal proof Mark Osegueda doesn’t disappoint with his comments to the throng of Death Angel fans, on this live album.
Voracious Souls and Mistress Of Pain are just two songs that empty out all of their live Thrash potency into my ears… making me plead – please give me more Death Angel!! There’s not one sub-par moment to be heard on Sonic German Beatdown… this is Death Angel we are talking about here and it’s live. 3rd Floor is as punishing and unreal great as any song Death Angel has written, the live version only drives home the ferociousness of this song all the more. Thrown To The Wolves is yet another example, out of this amazing set of 14 live songs, that fortifies and enriches the Thrash Metal meal that I eat up with my ears, on Sonic German Beatdown.
The vocals of Mark Osegueda are right on, his pronounced style of singing Thrash Metal is undeniably great for me. Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar on guitars are intense as they trade licks with speed and fury, with numerous and fiery solo’s throughout this live set that simply tear up this Rock Hard Festival. The overall sound quality on this live album is fabulous, top notch without any embellishments. This Death Angel lineup certainly has left their live mark on Germany, (from what my ears tell me), a live album of Thrash Metal I behold and recommend with certainty.
DEATH ANGEL – As They Appear On Sonic German Beatdown – Live In Germany:
Mark Osegueda – Vocals
Rob Cavestany – Guitars
Ted Aguilar – Guitars
Dennis Pepa – Bass
Andy Galeon – Drums
Track Listing For Sonic German Beatdown – Live In Germany:
Intro
Seemingly Endless Time
Voracious Souls
Mistress Of Pain
EX-TC
3rd Floor
Thrown To The Wolves
Steps Of Freedom
Thicker Than Blood
The Devil Incarnate
Disturbing The Peace
Stagnant
The Ultra Violence (Introducing: Carnival Justice)
Bored
Kill As One
Check out DEATH ANGEL’S official website by clicking here: DEATH ANGEL – Official Website
Check out DEATH ANGEL’S MySpace Music Page by clicking here: DEATH ANGEL – MySpace Music Page
Stone.
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
March 15, 2010 at 12:16 pm
I dig “Fall From Grace”. I have yet to check out this release. I like Death Angel for the fact that with each album they tried to progress, and did. I think they went a little to far when they tried to go from “Death Angel” to “D.A.” On an episode of “Headbangers Ball” form back in the day, Kip Winger introduced the video for “Room with a View” from the band “D.A.” Though MTV did follow up that video with the new Sanctuary video for “Future Tense”. Good night on the Ball. The track listing looks great. I will have to check this out pretty soon.
March 15, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Yeah… it’s a live Metal winner. You know, to this very moment, it still floors me that Death Angel wrote that song – “Room With A View”! Still, I am not embarrassed to admit, I actually like it. I always felt that Death Angel “sounds” like… Duran Duran on “Room With A View”! I am by no means insulting Death Angel here… this is a core band for me… yet the Metal truth is the Metal truth!
You know… “D.A.” just reminds me too much of the abbreviation for “District Attorney”… not a Metal tag at all. (Yet there probably are District Attorneys out there who are Metalheads).
This live Death Angel is packed with energy that just explodes from the speakers!
Stone
March 15, 2010 at 9:13 pm
I really dig “Room with a View” as well as “Mistress of Deception”. With the disbandment of Death Angel, the rest of the guys (w/o Mark Osegueda ) went on to form “The Organization”, and especially on the 1st release, they had a couple of tracks like that. It is a TREMENDOUS album if you have never heard it (which I am sure you have). I would say that album is a nice continuation of themes and sounds that were explored on “Act III”.
March 15, 2010 at 9:32 pm
My apologies… “Veil of Deception”. For some reason I confused the Coroner song with the Death Angel song. Alot of Metal knowledge banging around in my head and sometimes I access the wrong factoid. On that, the worst situation I could have possibly imagined occured in 1997 with Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth. We were talking about the just released “Days of Purgatory” set when I commented to him how much I liked Matt’s (Matthew Barlow) vocals on “When The Night Comes Down”, as opposed to vocals originally laid down by Gene Adams. As I am sure you know, “When The Night Comes Down” is a Judas Priest song and I meant to say the song “When The Night Falls”. I was mortified. In my world, I am the guy who knows all things METAL. What a slip up. We happened to be listening to Priest on the way to see Iced Earth. That is no excuse. I have to state, Jon was gracious in his correction, to me, of my error. I told him “I am so sorry, I did not mean any insult in stating the wrong song title.” That is literally what I said. His retort “You confused us with Priest, how am I supposed to be insulted by that?” He was so cool to us the rest of the night. Signed album after album, gave us some merch, just really a class act… the whole band. I will never forget that day.
March 15, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Jon Schaffer is one underrated Heavy Metal hero. Consistency and quality, along with perseverance are adjectives I use for Jon Schaffer. The proof are in his Iced Earth albums. (Plus I never read/listened to an interview of Jon Schaffer without being impressed by his candid nature and blue collar ethic).
Hey… when it comes to Metal, we fellow Metalheads will “cross reference” from time to time, it’s inevitable! We have so much Metal material and info on our brains that we have the occasional “slip”.
“Alive In Athens” is a great live album for me. I really, really, get into the Iced Earth cover of – “Shooting Star”… I’ll play it over at least 6 times when I pull out “The Melancholy EP”.
March 17, 2010 at 1:24 pm
[…] My apologies… “Veil of Deception”. For some reason I confused the Coroner song with the Death Angel song. Alot of Metal knowledge banging around in my head and sometimes I access the wrong factoid. On that, the worst situation I could have possibly imagined occured in 1997 with Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth. We were talking about the just released “Days of Purgatory” set when I commented to him how much I liked Matt’s (Matthew Barlow) vocals on “When The Night Comes Down”, as opposed to vocals originally laid down by Gene Adams. As I am sure you know, “When The Night Comes Down” is a Judas Priest song and I meant to say the song “When The Night Falls”. I was mortified. In my world, I am the guy who knows all things METAL. What a slip up. We happened to be listening to Priest on the way to see Iced Earth. That is no excuse. I have to state, Jon was gracious in his correction, to me, of my error. I told him “I am so sorry, I did not mean any insult in stating the wrong song title.” That is literally what I said. His retort “You confused us with Priest, how am I supposed to be insulted by that?” He was so cool to us the rest of the night. Signed album after album, gave us some merch, just really a class act… the whole band. I will never forget that day. Reply […]