ANGELUS APATRIDA – “THE CALL”
CENTURY MEDIA (2012)

Metal Church - The Present Wasteland

Spain may not be the biggest market for Metal music, far from it, but no-one doubts the passion and devotion of our Iberian brothers to metal. Actually, if memory serves, Angelus Apatrida, the Albacete-based quartet which was first formed back in 2000, is the first Spanish Thrash Metal I had heard of, and my curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to review “The Call” – the band’s fourth studio album and second since joining forces with the German label Century Media.

The first thing to really stand out, from the numerous Exodus and Megadeth-influenced riffs and leads, was the crystal-clear production of Daniel Cardoso (Anneke Van Giersbergen, Anathema). The crispness of the sound and the distinctive and powerful guitar tone make the otherwise simple and, let’s face it, familiar riffs sound so appealing. The band’s two guitarists, Guillermo Izquierdo and David G.Alvarez, are quite skilled and have the passion to perform this type of music. Clearly being Mustaine/Holt devotees, these two musicians may not have provided “The Call” with much originality, but they have guaranteed a predictable and specific audience for the band. So what, according to these Spaniards, is the essence of Thrash Metal?

Well, with an average song duration of three minutes and fifty seconds, “the Call” is the type of album that uses simple hooky riffs and catchy melodies. Strange, then, how the band’s skills really shine through in the longer compositions, such as the opening track “You Are Next” – a fast tempo Exodus-influenced piece filled with melodic leads and band vocal performances. Izquierdo’s vocals on “At The Gates Of Hell” sound dangerously like those of Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) and it is that fine balance of Exodus and Megadeth influences which characterise tracks, such as “Violent Dawn”, “Killer Instinct” and “The Hope Is Gone” – all pretty enjoyable but also fairly typical of the genre. “Blood On The Snow” is one of the songs that really stood out for me, cleverly combining an atmospheric/harmonic intro with quality massive head banging riffs. The last section consists of an interesting variety of compositions, with “Fresh Pleasure” being the straight-forward shredder, “Still Corrupt” containing a led guitar much like Jeff Waters’ (Annihilator) on the all-time classic “Fun Palace” and the impressive seven-minute “Reborn”.

“The Call” is the kind of album that ticks many boxes, but which also leaves a few important ones untouched. Let’s not kid ourselves here: the target audience for these Spaniards are old-school Thrashers and younger kids who became involved in the scene after its resurgence and these are the kind of people who will not object too much if a certain riff or melody has been used by many other bands many times in the past. The question is how they plan on attracting a wider audience and for that to happen they will have to look hard at finding something slightly more original and personal, if that is at all possible for a Thrash Metal band in the year 2012! Good luck, guys – you have my support!

John Stefanis

Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)

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