Angelus Apatrida
The Call

We haven't had too much thrash metal this year, but in April the fourth album by Angelus Apatrida was released and as one of the most awaited thrash metal albums this year. It's taken some time but we've finally come to a conclusion about 'The Call'.

The spanish quartet Angelus Apatrida has been one of the most interesting bands in this genre in their home country but they play their thrash metal very American and for those of you that can't stand this typical West coast American/shattered German way of metal will probably not find anything interesting in this band at all because these guys really goes back to the basics. They even have a vocalist that sounds very much alike the classic Exodus frontman Steve Souza and the music is like a remastered thrash album from the 80's with the new and improved sound quality giving the songs a somewhat better costume which will make every thrash lover go nuts about it. But this costume doesn't mean Angelus Apatrida plays this modern kind of thrash that's quite far from the early eighties root because this is rooted way in to the such of Metallica, Slayer and Flotsam And Jetsam early days thrash - songs structure, sound and all that kind of things included - for 45 minutes and ten songs.

The music is, as I've already made clear, faithful to the thrash genre which means fast music and vocals in that shouty, whiny kind of way that so many other bands' done it. The drums are probably the heaviest thing on the album and they're done in a steady beat and hasty tempo by Victor Valera who keeps it this way merciless throughout the entire album. In contrast to the drums I think the guitars play much softer, but the speed on them are always on the border of getting their license withdrawn - if they haven't already got them withdrawn. They play these real 'Kill Ém All' solos more or less all the time and this is way better than that basis riff they have, but the music still lacks some variation. I'm not saying they don't vary themselves, I'm just saying they don't vary themselves enough, not even close. The result is that these three quarters are one too many, had it been two it would have been great, maybe two and a half - but three… well, it works but not well.

There's another problem with music that's too similar, which is to orientate yourself on the album. I have no clue of which song is the good ones as I can't tell which one I'm listening to. The good thing is that this means that no songs are bad either, so the best way to describe the quality of the songs on 'The Call' is even… even high if you're the "glass half full" kind of guy.

I can't say 'The Call' will challenge for the throne against 'Master Of Puppets', 'Reign In Blood', 'Peace Sells… But Who's Buying?', 'Bonded By Blood', 'Fistful Of Metal' and so on, but it is a pretty good album, stabile and to thrash enthusiasts it should be as natural as eating breakfast. Good work Angels!

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