EP Review: Under Pressure by Death Angel (Nuclear Blast)
Bay Area thrash giants, Death Angel have released a new EP called Under Pressure which includes a cover of Queen and David Bowie’s track of the same name.
Like so many others, Death Angel have had to adapt to these COVID days and so Under Pressure is a 4 track stripped back acoustic EP with just the vocal and guitar talents of Mark Osegueda and Rob Cavestany on show.
Under Pressure opens the 4 track with Mark and Rob both taking on the legendary songs vocals and it’s pretty neat. They certainly do a good cover of it, singing well and using the acoustic guitar to give a real emotive version of the song. The only disappointment with it is there isn’t really anything to it other than a straight cover. This isn’t really a Death Angel version of the song, it’s just a nicely played, well sung karaoke track. It is genuinely nice though.
We do get a brand new original track next with the melodic Faded Remains. This is a really cool song. I love the guitar melody and the vocals are stunning. Even being acoustic, there is plenty of edge to the vocals, a banging chorus with wonderful backing and a neat flamenco sounding solo.
The other two tracks are brand new acoustic versions of two very well known tracks. First up is A Room With A View from Act III followed by Revelation Song from Humanicide. It’s really neat to get this different view of these well loved songs. I must admit to not loving the verses of Revelation Song as it is just crying out for some electrical output but the chorus is really cool and the solo on the acoustic is insane. A Room With A View does utilise the electric guitar a bit, coupled with the acoustic for the powerful solo and is just a beautiful and sorrowful song all round.
Death Angel have added a soulful and thoughtful addition to their immense catalogue with Under Pressure. It’s not always perfect but you can’t help but admire what’s on offer thanks to its honesty and simplicity. It’s also admirable to see so many bands finding a way to continue doing what they love, and providing fans with much needed music, despite everything 2020 continues to throw at us.
Grab a copy of Under Pressure from all the usual streaming platforms now.
Death Angel Links
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Under Pressure by Death Angel (Nuclear Blast)
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The Final Score - 7.5/10
7.5/10