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Fifth Angel - Fifth Angel review




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Reviewer:
8.6

73 users:
8.36
Band: Fifth Angel
Album: Fifth Angel
Release date: 1986


01. In The Fallout
02. Shout It Out
03. Call Out The Warning
04. Fifth Angel
05. Wings Of Destiny
06. The Night
07. Only The Strong Survive
08. Cry Out The Fools
09. Fade To Flames
10. Under Pressure [demo]

"80's US heavy/power metal at it's finest". If you're searching for this phrase in a music album, well... you've just hit bull's eye!

Fifth Angel, have released only two studio albums (the self-titled in 1986 and Time Will Tell in 1989). Unfortunately, line-up changes and the loss of their label support pushed the band off the cliff. Although Fifth Angel hadn't done any live concerts until they disbanded in 1989 (the only two shows the band ever played was a label showcase for Epic Records and a rehearsal/photo shoot at the Paramount Theater in Seattle), these two albums gave them recognition, mainly in the US, and put them in the "hidden gem band" category.

This album begins by giving us the full view of the potential that the band had. The song "In The Fallout" is a magnificent display of clean and powerful vocals, melodic and technical guitar solos, tight musicianship, and great composing/instrumenting abilities. Even though I believe that this song is the highlight of the whole album, the rest of it continues in high quality standards as well. By combining beautiful melodies with heaviness, they manage to keep the listener hooked up with Ted Pilot's diverse vocal performances, ranging from powerful high screams to hauntingly low "chants", the remarkable guitar playing of John Byrd, and the really good rhythmic performances on the rhythm guitar, bass and drums.

The production is pretty good for a debut album, nothing more or less here. Their musical style has a lot of Iron Maiden and early Queensrÿche influences and I think that this is reflected in the lyrics which mostly deal with social and religious issues, often written in an allegorical way. They're not anything too sophisticated, but they tend to differ from the glam/hair metal lyrical "restrictions" of the time.

After the release of the album, both the band and the album received critical acclaim and an underground fan base was quickly formed. A 1986-1987 "Riding On The Wings" tour was planned to support the debut album, which included an opening slot for Iron Maiden, and a string of headline East Coast dates. Unfortunately, the tours never materialized due to a variety of band-related and external factors.

All in all, I absolutely recommend this album to any heavy/power metal fan and to anyone who is into melodic metal in general!


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 7
Production: 8

Written by Tzo87 | 01.10.2014




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.



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