Death Angel
Sonic German Beatdown-Live In Germany (DVD)

November 2009
Released: 2009, Nuclear Blast
Rating: 2.0/5
Reviewer: JP

Death Angel have finally officially released a DVD, the first in their career. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really worth the wait. The awkward title, too close to Dragonforce’s last studio platter, says it all, two concerts shot in Germany.



The first concert is an uninspired, 15 cut, outdoor performance from the rainy 2007 Rock Hard Festival. The second is a sweaty club gig from 2008 with 17 songs. There are about seven songs that are performed at each show, just enough to avoid the two concerts being redundant. Both concerts have decent production, good sound and are accented by a number of camera angles. With so much young competition with any number of young thrash bands active these, Death Angel look and sound a little tired.



The package is rounded out by two videos, “Thicker Than Blood” and the uncensored version of “Dethroned”, which wasn’t really all that explicit or extreme to begin with. The whole exercise seems a little anti-climactic as the band seems to be falling apart at the seams, with two original members both leaving in the last 10 months.



Overall, the DVD is a nice, well-produced snapshot of a band who after a second shot at the brass ring, seem to be in limbo. Recommended for collectors, but rookies should start with the 1987 debut CD THE ULTRA-VIOLENCE, instead.