Goose bumps of anticipation were literally running up and down my arms as I tried to fumble this disc into my CD-player. Flashes of “Seemingly Endless Time” ripping through my brain as I finally managed to press the play button. And after a short Skyclad type acoustic intro Death Angel whips out a guitar riff that floods my mind with memories of the golden days of thrash metal. Time becomes meaningless and seemingly endless. The Death Angel is back… “I will survive while you die!”

Here we have another legendary thrash metal band making a comeback after 14 years. Sure they had a brief spell with The Organization but seriously that band never really came close to the sheer brilliance of Death Angel. Granted, The O had the times against them, as we all know the nineties weren’t the best days for thrash metal. Fortunately, the situation looks a whole lot brighter right now, and propelled by the success of compatriot thrash bands Death Angel is making a reappearance now too. The line-up is almost as the original one, as only Gus Pepa left the band; he has been replaced by Ted Aguilar.

Well, what can I say? One by one the thrash bands of old are showing the young dogs in the scene that they aren’t quite ready yet to relinquish their status to the new generation. One by one they come out with guns blazing, and one by one they mean business. The new generation of metal bands is getting a thrashing (pun intended) that they will not forget for a long long time to come.

The Art Of Dying is everything that thrash metal should be. What we have here is another bunch of guys who have found their inner anger once more and unleash it, or I should say channel it, into twelve good songs.

If you are expecting to hear an Act IV you might be disappointed, because The Art Of Dying isn’t really anything like Act III or Frolic Through The Park. You won’t hear songs like “Seemingly Endless Time” or “A Room With A View” but what you will hear is still definitely 100% pure Death Angel with a slightly more modern approach.

Death Angel show that they still know how to play fast, aggressive and intense tracks like “Thrown To The Wolves”, “Prophecy” and “Thicker Than Blood”. These songs are so unmistakably Death Angel, you’d recognize them by just hearing the main riff. But that’s not all, these guys don’t limit themselves to fast paced tracks and the first mid-tempo banger is right away one of the highlights. “The Devil Incarnate” crawls forwards like impending doom, slowly but steadily gaining momentum, and ending in a great unstoppable climax. They definitely haven’t forgotten how to write breathtaking songs. And if “The Devil Incarnate” isn’t proof enough I invite you to listen to the ballad “Word To The Wise” and be convinced. The Art Of Dying ends how it started: with goose bumps.

Although I don’t think all the songs are of the highest level (“Spirit” comes to mind) and although I don’t think that this release is as good as Exodus’ Tempo Of The Damned, it’s still one hell of an album. I could go on about how good this album is, how great the guitar riffs are, etc. but I won’t bore you with more useless words. It’s really simple: if you don’t buy this album, you are not a thrash metal fan.