Few bands formed back in the day, especially those with a 30 plus year gap between recordings ever manage to get anywhere near recapturing their classic sound. Some of course mange to get close, others throw a few shapes and you get a few echoes but it’s rare indeed to hear a band so completely and utterly fall back into step it feels like the decades passed have been mere months. Fifth Angel, a band that always deserved so much more than their old label Epic gave them, have created an album here that more than any comeback I’ve heard in years just completely rekindles the fire and spirit of those classic releases.
Opening pair ‘Stars are Falling’ and ‘We Rise’ have all the power and passion of vintage Fifth Angel a band I must admit I only heard fleetingly back in the day and discovered really after their break-up in the wake of Grunge.
‘Queen of Thieves’ is a little slower and doomier but with a rock solid groove and like every track here some wonderfully evocative guitar work that really showcases the versatility of the instrument as not just the driving force of the songs here but as a solo instrument that adds so much additional texture.
Three songs in you’ll be convinced you are listening to a classic from back in the day. If you love Dio or Dio era Sabbath or Rainbow, or bands like Iron Maiden who straddle that age old divide between Hard Rock and Metal the Fifth Angel are for you. This is classic Rock/Metal at it’s very best and the most incredible thing of all is that there’s not a song on here that wont grab your full attention.
Everywhere you turn here is gold. ‘Can You Hear Me’ really stirs up an atmosphere, slower, more epic and grander than anything before; then ‘This Is War’ is thrust upon you via some thrusting guitars and driven by a stuttering riff opening up a whole new world before ‘Fatima’ tells a wonderfully story that slowly builds and is punctuated by a wonderful refrain and beautifully woven guitars.
Title track ‘Third Secret’ follows and has a vaguely ‘eastern’ sound and tells an epic tale, slower and more deliberate before ‘Shame on You’ jumps out at you with a slightly quirky riff before it falls onto a speedy refrain and fist-pumping Metal drive. It’s probably the simplest song here,but so much fun and will sound great live. And before you know it the return is over ten songs in: ‘Hearts of Stone’ is a fiery rocker that just brings it altogether and is perhaps my current favourite here. Fifth Angel aren’t breaking any new ground here and that is entirely the point, it’s comfort food for those that crave simpler times.
This is the Hard Rock and Metal comeback of the year, maybe the decade. Stunning.
