Band:	Death Angel
Album:	The Evil Divide
Style:	Bay Area thrash metal
Release date:	May 27, 2016
A review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

Disc I [CD]
01. The Moth
02. Cause For Alarm
03. Lost
04. Father Of Lies
05. Hell To Pay
06. It Can't Be This
07. Hatred United, United Hate
08. Breakaway
09. The Electric Cell
10. Let The Pieces Fall
11. Wasteland [bonus]

Disc II [DVD]
01. Making Of

Too many people out there treat Death Angel as a "really good" thrash band; not enough regard this legend as a truly great thrash band. These guys must have a serious geis on releasing subpar albums.

Jason Suecof's production over these last three albums has helped to turn Death Angel into an unprecedentedly titanic force; every song bristles with menacing power, and every chord crunches bones like an asteroid with teeth. The rhythm section the band picked up in 2009 undoubtedly shares some of the credit; with Will Carroll on drums and Damien Sisson on bass, Death Angel sounds like a freight train had a baby with an earthquake. Each of the last few albums has seen the band become increasingly comfortable with these new elements, and The Evil Divide marks the point when Death Angel truly embraces this modern sound and becomes a fully-operational battle station.

The Evil Divide takes after The Dream Calls For Blood to a large extent, with a similarly sober and violent atmosphere, but the songwriting on The Evil Divide surpasses that of its predecessor. "Lost" is not only one of the best songs in Death Angel's catalogue, but also one of the bleakest and most emotionally taxing, and this track provokes an examination of how Death Angel has transformed in non-sonic ways. Death Angel has always excelled in songwriting and performance; a quick trip to The Ultra-Violence, recorded when all the members were under 20, will tell us as much. What separates the reunion material from the original material, and what continues to push the band into darker and heavier territory with each passing album, is the maturity that plagues the aging. Every year unveils an older, wiser, more intense, and more sadistic Death Angel that delves deeper into its own soul and pulls up more ugly, twisted, and powerful songs.

"The Moth" immediately sets the tone for what The Evil Divide has in store; this is Death Angel's darkest and most somber album, but these ten tracks have no shortage of complex and inventive melodies, compelling performances, or brutal tenacity. "Breakaway" provides the perfect soundtrack to destroying something, and "It Can't Be This" screams a wrenching tale of misery; every song has its own hooks and mule-kicks to deliver, and were it not for "Lost," it would be difficult to choose a single "best" track.

I listened to this album twice through without taking any notes, which is unusual for me; I was simply so stunned by everything I heard, start-to-finish. I have always loved Death Angel, and I fondly remember The Art Of Dying as my first non-Big Four thrash album, but when I first spun The Evil Divide, I had to stop and re-evaluate this band. The way that Death Angel has persevered and evolved over the decades is nothing short of impressive, but The Evil Divide made me realize that I have never given the band enough credit. With every run through, this album becomes more powerful and more memorable; I could not have chosen a favorite Death Angel album before now, but I think I've found a winner.