After hearing both this solid, self-titled debut from Angel Blake and the initial offering from Johan Lindstrand's new outfit One Man Army And The Undead Quartet it's fairly obvious that the members of The Crown were very hung up over musical direction when they decided to split up. Although Lindstrand's current group may be a bit more reminiscent of The Crown, "Angel Blake" is easily the better offering.
Marko Terovnen formed Angel Blake in 2004, right after the break up of The Crown. Not only will close followers of Danzig note that the moniker Angel Blake betrays a deep Danzig influence, but the sound of the former singer of The Misfits' solo formation is also drawn upon at times on "Angel Blake", making for a dusky melodic journey that is fused with massive metal guitars and a penchant for timely dramatic shifts that underscore the veteran songwriting status of Tervonen.
Recorded solely by Terovnen (who performed all instruments on the album) and vocalist Tony Jelencovich (ex-Mnemic), "Angel Blake" packs a powerful punch, with tracks such as the tuneful "Lycanthrope" and the five-feet-thick "Retaliate" placing an emphasis on brute force without sacrificing melody in the process. Generally, Angel Blake stays in the mid-tempo range. You won't find very much thrashing going on here, but you will discover plenty of hard-hitting, darkly melodic metal that is both contemporary and highly relevant in a scene overburdened with same-sounding acts.
Although the album's lone cover track, a beefed-up rendition of Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" has been well overdone, its theme of war fits in with the world's current political climate and Angel Blake do as good a job as pulling it off as anyone. Meanwhile, "Solitude, My Friend" imparts a doomy vibe, yet stands up as being a crucial modern rock track at the same time. Bold choruses such as the one you'll find on this track further underline the importance of Terovnen's skilled song craftsmanship.
All in all, this is a very good record that fans of mid-paced metal would do well to pick up. Don't be surprised if a track or two from this disc makes it onto the radio airwaves, and take comfort in knowing that if you do hear Angel Blake on the local hard rock channel that you could be hearing something much, much worse in its place. A strong first outing that shows much potential for the future, "Angel Blake" is most certainly worthy of headbangers' attention.
- ErinFox
(See reviewer's scoring method)
