Once a week I'll turn the blog over to Dan Marsicano for his Retro Recommendation, giving you a chance to learn about underrated and overlooked gems from metal's past. This week Death Angel is in the spotlight.
The killer thrash metal that Death Angel let loose on their 1987 debut The Ultra-Violence was tamed down on sophomore album Frolic Through The Park. Even though only a year separated the two albums, the difference between them is vast. While their first album was frantic and loose, their second album was more controlled and linear. Their thrash upbringing clashed with a mainstream approach that would later work wonders for them on 1990's Act III.
That's not to say that Frolic Through The Park was just a stepping stone on the way to greatness. There are many things to like about this album; whether it is vocalist Mark Osegueda trying out his new howling wails or the uncontrolled urge to have gang chants in almost every chorus, the band flexed their songwriting chops. In a way, it's exciting to hear this album in the present day knowing how the band would turn out, but it must have come to a surprise to many when it was released back in 1988. Death Angel showed no fear in stepping away from what made The Ultra-Violence so recognizable in the first place.
"Why You Do This" and "Confused" are longer tracks with a melodic sound that sticks to a mid-tempo pace. The band seems comfortable with this direction, unwavering in the attempt to break free of their former single-minded thrash mindset. A solid cover of KISS's "Cold Gin" and the goofy single "Bored" only reaffirms this position. The variety is nice to see, though the lack of any true hard-hitting tracks on par with "Thrashers" or "Final Death" is unfortunate.
A few thrash breaks are scattered around the album, but they are far from the main focus. Wicked opener "3rd Floor" and closer "Mind Rape," two rip-roaring treks into unbridled chaos, represent the sole threads of the band's early days. Even though the band was still relatively young - most of the members were in their late teens/early 20s at the time the album was released - there is a level of maturity in these tracks that was missing on The Ultra-Violence, which makes their music more precise and deadly.
It's always amazing when a band makes such a giant progression in a short time as Death Angel did. Comparing their first and second album is like night and day; they almost seem like they were released by two different bands. While Act III would perfect the sound the band was going for here, this was the primary indication that Death Angel had a lot more to bring than was shown on The Ultra-Violence. For allowing metal fans to see that Death Angel was more than just a one-note thrash act, Frolic Through The Park gets the nod for this week's Retro Recommendation.
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