Armoured Angel - Communion

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AMOURED ANGEL was an Australian Speed/Thrash and Death Metal band formed in 1982, and considered one of the pioneers of this sound. The four-track album, “Communion”, was the band’s third demo release on an independent label and originally released in 1990s. To fully take the album in, you almost need to travel back in time to when the Thrash genre was just starting. Immediately, the first track, “Castration” does just that. I would have to describe the sound as Thrash Metal for the most part. There is a central riff supported by a small bit of variety here and there, and although it is not super-fast it still meets the criteria for classic Thrash to me.

Vocally, I am reminded of a band like SLAYER with the vocal style consisting mostly of raspy shouts. Sometimes the riffing reminds me of the band DEATH ANGEL, who were starting to get really big at the time of this release. “Tergiversator” is a faster track with a lot of speed-picked guitar over the palm muted open strings in the riff. The vocals have a small echo in them as well, which keeps their presence a bit stronger in the realm of how heavy the instruments are. The title track, “Communion”, is the longest song on the Demo at over five minutes. It’s a more groove-oriented, mid-tempo piece where the vocals trade-off with the changing riff notes so that it can maximize the presence of both in the song. There is a secondary riff that really goes deep with accentuation as well. “My Fist Your Face” closes the Demo, it has a swift tempo and a tight mid-section as the vocalist snarls the song title with determination. Overall it’s pretty indicative of the sound in this genre as at the time. Where some Thrash bands set themselves apart of the pack was with an overload of riff and meter changes in one song, this Demo is pretty straightforward as far as the genre goes.

Songwriting: 6
Originality: 5
Memorability: 5
Production: 6