Description

2008 remastered re-issue in digipack with slipcase, 8 bonus live tracks and 16 page booklet with new layout, photos and lyrics

It took the arrival of drummer Gene Hoglan to elevate Dark Angel above the uncultivated noise fests captured on their amateurish first album, We Have Arrived, and in many ways, their follow-up 1986 release, Darkness Descends, represents the group’s true debut. From the very first crushing riff of the title track, it becomes obvious that the production values and technical discipline which had eluded the band the first time around would be brought screaming into focus on this album — still considered a minor thrash metal classic. To be fair, Dark Angel only had a few tricks at their disposal, but they execute them extremely well. The results are a number of largely one-dimensional, but surprisingly memorable headbanging classics, including Merciless Death, Death Is Certain, Life Is Not and the vicious Perish In Flames. Over eight minutes in length, Black Prophecies at times sounds like a forced experiment, but it’s actually the group’s first stab at the progressive thrash style which would characterize subsequent releases. Under Hoglan’s supervision, Dark Angel would spend the next two years refining their sound to achieve just that, but for many purists, Darkness Descends remains the band’s definitive thrash statement. Darkness Descends is a worthy discovery for committed thrashers.

Track Listing
1. Darkness Descends
2. The Burning Of Sodom
3. Hunger Of The Undead
4. Merciless Death
5. Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)
6. Black Prophecies
7. Perish In Flames
8. Merciless Death-live
9. Perish In Flames-live
10. Darkness Descends-live
11. The Burning Of Sodom-live
12. Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)-live
13. We Have Arrived-live
14. The Burning Of Sodom-live
15. Death Is Certain (Life Is Not)-live