There is a well-worn cliché propagated, more often than not by overly cynical music magazines, that second albums are creatively difficult for bands, a notion bandied about with particular glee when a band’s debut has been successful as there’s nothing better for sales than setting up a band only to crush them once they hit the big time. There is, in truth, some merit to the argument that second albums are tough – after all, a band may well have been honing their songs for years when it comes to their debut, but come the second record there is pressure from both fans and label as well as limited time available. However there is also an oft-overlooked concomitant to this notion which is the simple fact that artists can often thrive far better under pressure than in the stultifying aura of adulation, and there is also the simple fact that a band who make it to their second album are more often than not road-tested and far more proficient than they were at the outset, the benefit of experience allowing for a tighter, more engaging musical performance. It is the latter which is the case for Thirteenth Sign who have crafted an album which is bigger, bolder and more exciting than its critically-acclaimed predecessor in almost every way.
Thirteenth Sign have a lot riding on this one. Initially signed with Battlegod productions for their debut release, the band opted to form their own label, Poisoned Earth, for their sophomore release in order to allow for more creative control over the final product. The results speak for themselves. Everything about ‘rise of the black angel’ looks and feels more professional, more confident and, well, more metal. The cover art alone is a step beyond ‘oracles of Armageddon’, with a dark green hue and faded logo that’s just crying out to become a favoured T shirt amongst discerning metalheads everywhere. It is the music, however, that we are gathered here for and ‘rise of the black angel’ delivers on every level with not a single weak track on an album that has everything from crushing riffs to huge, quasi-symphonic passages that are as well produced and delivered as they are ambitious.
The CD opens on a creepy note, ‘blackest widow’ begins not with a killer riff, but with the sounds of a crying baby in some fly-blown, isolated hell-hole. Footsteps echo and then a simple tune, as if on a music box rings out before transforming into the full blown metal epic that is ‘Angelmakers’ – the guitars seguing perfectly into a blackened thrash riff that sounds bigger and bolder than anything on the debut thanks to Matt Moore and Lloyd Stringer’s excellent, crunchy production job. Having flattened you with the killer riff, a massive chorus in the vein of Arch enemy is then unleashed and you just know that when this lot hit the festivals there’ll be a mass of raised fists in the air when they blast out this little demon. Employing a well-worn, but always effective metal device, ‘implosion’ kicks off with the sound of a gun cocking before the band unleash a torrent of hellish riffs and blinding solos all before a note is sung. When the vocals do appear it is once again notable just how confident vocalist Dean Neal sounds, his screams harsh and compelling and yet with a rhythmic cadence that perfectly matches the flow of the music. Lloyd Stringer gets a moment to show off his considerable skills with the drum intro to ‘cleansing waters’ the blistering riff and brutal vocals of which place it firmly in the death metal category, not to mention a chorus that most bands would kill for. The highlight of the first half of the album, however, arrives in the form of the brilliantly realised ‘bones of Jerusalem’ that is destined to become an extreme metal benchmark with its huge, coruscating riffs, eerie samples and monumentally huge percussive attack. It is simply a brilliant piece of metal and if you’re going to hear any track off the album this has got to be it – it is blinding.
After such a blinding first half, the question is can the band keep up the pace for the duration of the album. The answer (as if you couldn’t guess) is of course they can. ‘Redemption of the wretched’ is a brutal blast of noxious death metal, the vocals straining at the leash whilst the guitars of Chris Hubbard and Adam Moore slash and burn around them. ‘Doomsday prophecy’ is similarly brutal, but it is the crushing riff offset by creepy horror-movie atmospherics of ‘Hollow wraith’ which is surely the most astonishingly brutal track here, the guitars raging against a rock solid backdrop courtesy of Lloyd and bassist Nat Cook. ‘Magnetism of Poseidon’ is a more traditionally themed metal track, the furious vocals notwithstanding, that combines the fury of death metal with the memorable, melodic edge of vintage thrash. It is the final track, however, that tops it all. Better, even, than the awe-inspiring ‘bones of Jerusalem’, ‘Ophiuchus’ reign’ is just a remarkable piece of music. With subtly integrated orchestration that sounds stunningly natural, immense riffs and a brilliant performance form the whole band it is the ultimate closing track, an intelligent, beautifully produced epic piece of work that is the bands best track to date.
Thirteenth Sign may have had a great start with their debut album, but they have truly upped the ante here. There is ambition, intelligence, passion and style oozing out of every song but none more so than the remarkable closing track which defies the band’s peers to step up and do better. A band who are furiously determined to live the heavy metal dream and who have the ability and the attitude to do so, Thirteenth Sign have delivered an album that trumps its predecessor in every way imaginable and, more to the point, they have done so in their own terms. More than ever Thirteenth sign deserve and demand your support and if so much as a hint of metal flows through your veins then you need to purchase this album. A blistering and brilliant follow-up to an excellent debut –miss Thirteenth Sign at your peril.
Find out more here: http://thirteenthsign.co.uk/
