Independent Release

Review by Tony Cannella

The great country of Italy seems to be a metal hotbed these days. The latest band to hail from Italy is Angel Of Anger. Their music is often described as Black/Death metal and Gothic metal, but they are not afraid to veer off into other directions – and if you listen to their self-titled debut CD you’ll hear what I mean. The band line-up looks like this: Andred (Lead Vocals), Los (Guitar), Lo Spezz (Bass and backing vocals), Lord Axl Mato (Guitar) and Animal (Drums). This CD features 5-songs and over 30-minutes worth of brutal, extreme and often times beautiful music. The CD begins with the 1-minute track “Intro – Angel Of Anger”.’ As I said this is only a short track, but it is a lesson in brutality that provides the listener with a shot of adrenalin that sets the stage for the next track “Wake Up Spirits”. This song begins with a nice steady riff that is about as subtle as a buzz saw. When the vocals of Andred come in, your attention is instantly grabbed. She has a voice that is powerful, well-produced, and fits the songs very well. At times, I would compare her to Sabbat-era (the UK band, not the band from Japan) Martin Walkyier. The song slows down at about the mid-way point, before getting heavy and faster than ever to end the song. Next up is “Angelic Pain”. This is where it gets very interesting. The song starts of with a – dare I say pretty – acoustic passage and the vocals of Andred come in and they too are pretty. The song quickly kicks into over drive as the vocals of Andred go from Gothic to extreme and back again. I thought this would be my favorite song, that is until the next one started. At almost 11-minutes long, “My Grave” is the longest song on display here and is nothing short of a masterpiece. It begins with a slow, but heavy chugging riff, that builds and builds and builds. At about the 3-minute mark the song really gets going before slowing down once again. There are so many changes in this song that the listener can’t help but pay attention. This song is a grand epic journey. Andred continues to astound with her vocal style and range. Even though the song is close to 11-minutes long, it never gets boring is even deserving of more listens. The final song “The Only Certainty” clocks in at over 8 minutes long and is a perfect closer that once again leaves the listen to marvel at the talent and variety that Angel Of Anger are capable of. The CD also contains the video for “Wake Up Spirits” and band photos. No doubt about it, Angel Of Anger are a band that took me by surprise. I was prepared for a group only played extreme metal, but after I listening to this CD I was wrong. It’s true, the band can get extreme with the best of them but they also add different elements as well. I also couldn’t help but be impressed with the songwriting, musicianship and the overall quality of the songs contained here. Definitely a band that can go a long way.