Today on The Great Metal Debate Podcast – our review of Angelus Apatrida’s new self-titled album.
Angelus Apatrida is a thrash metal band hailing from Spain. I’d heard the name before, as well as some of their music, but prior to this honestly hadn’t made myself familiar with their entire catalogue which includes six previous full-length albums dating back to the mid-2000s. Stylistically, Angelus Apatrida gives you standard thrash content, one might even characterize it as ‘old school’. Their sound reminds me a lot of the kinds of thrash metal I heard back in the late 1980s and early 1990s – bands like Annihilator, Kreator, and Testament. If you are looking for deep technical dives along the lines of Black Fast or Vektor their brand of throwback thrashiness might leave you wanting.
Overall, Angelus Apatrida – the album – is a good representation of the band. If you are a fan of them, or of thrash generally, this checks all the boxes you are looking for in an album. Everything is well done – good music, songwriting, and production. I have a few critiques, but they are minor quibbles that don’t diminish the overall endorsement.
As an aside, I’m not a huge fan of bands having eponymous album titles after so many years, and it especially seems odd in this instance given there are no radical changes in line-ups or sound at this stage with Angelus Apatrida. It’s not a deviation at all – making it almost random this is the album they chose to mark with the band’s own name.
Jumping into the mix, the album begins with “Indoctrinate” – a sturdy, galloping track that is well-greeted, getting right to the aggressive stuff. The guitars are big and fast, if not especially complex, and they churn relentlessly. Traversing the album there are some definite other stars to highlight. “We Stand Alone” provides dynamic rhythm that transitions into a nice atmosphere through the chorus. Maybe the best solo on the album in this track. “Rise Or Fall” is one of my personal favs, with a fat guitar sound and killer chorus that will be well-received and echoed back in the live setting. “Childhood’s End” (not sure whether this is a reference to the classic science fiction novel – I’d like to hope it is) finds the guitars providing a bit more subtle, layered sound and a quick lead break that evades distinction. Another good one is “Empire of Shame”, which inexorably inflicts its blunt force-trauma riffing.
Not every song is on-point, and there are a few generic thrash riffs that might just pass in the night. “Through The Gates” tries to set up for a big chorus but falls a bit flat in the delivery. And while I like “The Age Of Disinformation” I thought it a bit herky-jerky as far as song structure… points for effort, but I was never too sure exactly where that one was going.
But in total the songs are good, falling a somewhat short of greatness. Coming out of the COVID ‘lockdown’ year of 2020, the themes of disinformation, indoctrination, and epistemological uncertainty are certainly appropriate. Singer Guillermo Izquierdo provides all the grit you’d want and more in his vocal delivery, and wisely doesn’t wander far from his comfort zone. With regard to production, all the instruments are placed up front in the sound, and you can hear everything well. The guitars have a pleasing crunch. The sound is just a hair over-compressed for my liking; it would have been nice for the mix to have given a little more space for the listener to breathe it all in.
This album won’t make by ‘best of 2021’ but it is still one I can see staying in my listening rotation for a while and is well worth any metal fan checking out. The new album Angelus Apatrida is available beginning February 5th from Century Media Records and all the regular on-line sources of music.