Back in the late '80s who'd of thought that Sebastian Bach, whilst crooning out '18 And Life', would have emerged as a true metal rock god. Skid Row's abandonment of the rock scene in puking out 'Slave To The Grind' wasn't just a two fingered salute to the corporate rock machine, but it also alienated many fans. However, with so many rave reviews and much respect since then, Skid Row dissipated into a shadow of their former selves, whilst Mr Bach continued to rock...big fuckin' time. 'Angel Down' is an enormous record, a kick up the back side of metal, this has all the anger, weight and fist-clenching metal of 'Slave To The Grind'...only multiplied. The even more bizarre aspect of all this is that Bach recruited one of my favourite bass players of all time, Steve DiGorgio, of Death/Sadus/Cynic. What the fuck!!! And what a record...'Angel Down' kicks in like some kind of mutant Judas Priest/Pantera/death metal juggernaut, straight for the throat. Bach becomes the leader of the old school with this record, as Ozzy/Alice/Dio pass into their later years. Clad in leather, still sportingt hat mighty, feminine mane and voice, he holds no prisoners on the vocal attack however. The true metal wizardry of 'You Don't Understand' reeks of Maiden, only deeper and darker, the guitar attack of Chromatic and Chlasciak dominate the record, meanwhile tracks 3 to 5, recruit the elusive Axl Rose, who truly nails 'Back In The Saddle' (Aerosmith cover) with his distinctive whine. Immense. '(Love Is) A Bitchslap' is a leather-laden skull-crusher, Axl backing up the chorus, riffs aplenty, solo's soaring everywhere, but the true mosh pit of the album is the ferocious grind of 'Stuck Inside', and I'm wondering how much Axl was inspired by this monolithic record for his 'Chinese...' album.
Metal needs albums like this, and when 'American Metalhead' kicks in, it's time to smash down the doors, take to the streets and bang that head. 'Angel Down' is a metal masterpiece in my opinion, Bach's vocals bordering on some kind of thrashy-guttural bellow, astounding. And so it goes...fourteen tracks of soul-grinding heavy metal. Fans of Megadeth, Machine Head, new G 'N' R, Beautiful Creatures, Skid Row at their best and heaviest...and a dose of thrash, will adore this record. Let's face it, 'Live & Die' IS thrash, 'By Your Side' chugs like an iron elephant, and so on and so on....brilliant. Just brilliant.
9.5/10
Metal needs albums like this, and when 'American Metalhead' kicks in, it's time to smash down the doors, take to the streets and bang that head. 'Angel Down' is a metal masterpiece in my opinion, Bach's vocals bordering on some kind of thrashy-guttural bellow, astounding. And so it goes...fourteen tracks of soul-grinding heavy metal. Fans of Megadeth, Machine Head, new G 'N' R, Beautiful Creatures, Skid Row at their best and heaviest...and a dose of thrash, will adore this record. Let's face it, 'Live & Die' IS thrash, 'By Your Side' chugs like an iron elephant, and so on and so on....brilliant. Just brilliant.
9.5/10
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