Focus Reviews

Angel Corpse - Of Lucifer And Lightning
Style: Blackened Death Metal
Running Time: 36 Minutes and 30 Seconds
Label: http://www.theendrecords.com/


Bands break up... it's a natural thing to want to take a break from the same people day after day. Angel Corpse broke up in 1999 and its been a little over 7 years since a full length from them was released(minus the odd assortment of rare tracks/comp singles/live songs etc etc). Is 'Of Lucifer And Lightning' still the same old Angel Corpse ? Why of course it is... but does this newly reformed Angel Corpse meet the grade when it comes to what they've put out now ? The Answer is no... not entirely at least. Everything on 'Of Lucifer And Lightning' sounds like Angel Corpse plays like Angel Corpse but just doesn't feel like Angel Corpse.

For 36 minutes we are treated here to fairly uninspiring work. Guitars that are competent but grating at times, drum work that gets lost in the shuffle completely, and vocal work that doesn't necessarily stand out like it used to for vocalist Pete Helmkemp. If you've got John Longstreth behind the kit, you definitely want him to stick out, powerhouse that he is behind that kit. Unfortunately for him, his drum work gets lost behind the overbearing guitars, which seem to be brought up in the mix so much more loudly than any other portion of the album. Riff heavy, and creatively technical at times, yeah... but I'd like to be able to make out the other instruments just as well.

From opener "Credo Decimatus" I already knew that the album was going to be muddy production wise, and to be honest I expected it wholly with previous work in mind. But just how muddy it sounded after this small, fast intro ended puzzled me.

Musically the guitars are, as I stated, creatively technical in their work, but at times it just feels like parts were thrown in on a whim to get the song over with. The whole album really feels that way, after this long of a wait for a new album from Angle Corpse I wasn't expecting this honestly. Expectations go a long way with a band that has been gone for a while, especially when previous material has showcased them to be an amazing band with talent and flair for their respective genre. Not delivering on expectations of fans can't be reason enough for a bad score though. In complete honesty fans of Angel Corpse are going to eat this up... they've waited long enough to not be unimpressed with it. But for those who have taken our time listening to this album and not just gobbled it up as something only fantasized since 'The Inexorable' was embraced in their CD trays, other opinions have been formed of such a lackluster release.

For everything the album has done wrong, theres no denying that Angel Corpse know what they're doing, and truthfully they had to be happy with this to release it after such a long time. The band by no means has lost their touch, they just have slept on it for so long that its lost all feeling, like a hand that simply will not wake up that you need to shake and smack for a while to get that feeling back. The same can be said about Angel Corpse... If they stick around this time, they will most assuredly shake off that seven plus years rust. And hey, at least they're back to fill us with satanic metal, even if a little boring after such a long wait.

Score: 5/10