Of all the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” stories in metal history, perhaps no band’s tale is as infamous as Fifth Angel’s. In the midst of major label metal mania, the band’s self titled debut album caught the attention of Epic Records. This subsequently led to a 7 album, $21 million dollar deal. Yes, you read that correctly. At the time, it was one of the most ambitious record deals in music industry history, especially for a heavy metal band. Of the 7 proposed albums, only 1989’s Time Will Tell saw the light of day, and the band imploded altogether that same year.
Decades passed, and like every greats 80s US metal band, a triumphant reunion run of the euro fest circuit followed. Come 2017, the band resumed for good, albeit with a slightly tweaked lineup from yesteryear. On their fourth and latest album, When Angels Kill, the band is joined by Flotsam and Jetsam guitarist Steve Conley, as well as Rob Halford doppelganger Steven Carlson. Rounding the lineup out is longtime bassist John Macko, and founding members Ken Mary on drums and Ed Archer on guitars. Together, these 5 veterans make up Fifth Angel circa 2023: The biggest metal band that never was.
Whereas past releases kept things simple with straightforward anthems that doubled down on power and class, When Angels Kill sees Fifth Angel attempting their heavenly hand at *gulp* the concept album. On paper, it should work. This heavy/power/prog metal mishmash chronicles some sort of dystopian landscape on the brink of apocalypse. As our rebel protagonist tries to salvage what’s left of humanity, his tale is told with the same driving force as past Fifth Angel releases. Performance-wise, every musician kills it on their respective the instrument. Hell, even the production, while blatantly modern in the Andy Sneap sense, doesn’t kill this outing.
Unfortunately, where When Angels Kill falls tragically short are in the songs themselves. It doesn’t matter whether they’re more power metal, traditional metal, or a 50/50 balance of both; they all more or less bleed into each other with the same undistinguishable characteristics as your typical, run of the mill Wacken band. The rawness and character of their self titled debut? A relic of the past. Instead, we get generic, post-euro power mediocrity, with the occasional pseudo-prog suite (“Ashes to Ashes”, “The End of Everything”) to convey a false sense of depth.
Whatever shining moments are scattered about this album (and there are a few, namely the high speed “Seven Angels” and melodic “Kill the Pain”) are muddled by the album’s over-ambitious hour and 9 minute run time: One of the most tragic displays I’ve seen of “filling the CD” in recent memory (shame on you Nuclear Blast). With some finetuning, a more old school production approach, and a strict 40 minute runtime, I feel this concept could’ve been executed far more successfully. Instead, we’re faced with album that is far too talented to be labeled “bad”, but rather painfully average. It’s another case of what woulda, coulda, and should been…just like Fifth Angel themselves.
5 out of 10
Label: Nuclear Blast
Genre: Heavy/Power Metal
For fans of: Judas Priest, Accept, Helloween