Act III (Death Angel album)

Act III
Studio album by
Death Angel
ReleasedApril 10, 1990
RecordedSeptember–October 1989
StudioDodge City Sound, Burbank, California
GenreThrash metal
Length44:54
LabelGeffen
ProducerMax Norman, Tom Zutaut
Death Angel chronology
Frolic Through the Park
(1988) 		Act III
(1990) 		Fall from Grace
(1990)
Singles from Act III
  1. "Seemingly Endless Time"
    Released: 1990
  2. "A Room with a View"
    Released: 1990

Act III is the third studio album by the thrash metal band Death Angel, released in 1990 on Geffen Records. This is the band's final studio album to feature guitarist Gus Pepa, and their only recording on Geffen. It was also their last studio album before their ten-year hiatus from 1991 to 2001.

Overview

Regarded by many critics and fans as the band's finest effort, Act III was co-produced Max Norman (known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Megadeth, Savatage, Fates Warning and Loudness) and Tom Zutaut. This album once again presented a change in style for Death Angel, and is considerably much darker than its predecessors. While retaining some of the speed and thrash elements of their debut album The Ultra-Violence (1987), it also saw the band continuing the experimentation of Frolic Through the Park (1988), drawing elements and influences from a variety of musical styles such as funk, folk, progressive, traditional heavy metal, hard rock and punk rock.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal9/10[8]

Act III was successful in Europe, entering the album charts in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary and the Netherlands.[9] Although the album failed to break the band in their native America, the music videos for its singles, "Seemingly Endless Time" and "A Room with a View", received regular rotation on MTV's Headbangers Ball.[10] In October 2020, Death Angel released an almost entirely acoustic version of "A Room With a View" on their Under Pressure EP.[11]

Adam McCann of Metal Digest called Act III "an early 90's classic thrash album", and wrote, "There was something always a little bit more technical and progressive about Death Angel, but with Act III, the band found the perfect combination of thrash, technical and accessibility as they created a beast which saw the band achieve MTV heavy rotation with 'A Room With a View' and 'Seemingly Endless Time'. Check any list of the best heavy metal albums of all time and nine times out of ten, you'll find Act III."[6]

Act III was listed as number 328 in the 2010 reference book, The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time.[12]

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Seemingly Endless Time"Rob CavestanyCavestany3:49
2."Stop"Cavestany, Mark OseguedaCavestany5:10
3."Veil of Deception"CavestanyCavestany2:35
4."The Organization"Andy GaleonGaleon, Cavestany4:16
5."Discontinued"GaleonCavestany, Galeon, Gus Pepa, Dennis Pepa5:50
6."A Room with a View"CavestanyCavestany4:42
7."Stagnant"CavestanyGaleon, Cavestany5:33
8."EX-TC"OseguedaCavestany3:06
9."Disturbing the Peace"CavestanyCavestany3:53
10."Falling Asleep"CavestanyCavestany5:54
Total length:44:54

Personnel

Death Angel
  • Mark Osegueda – lead vocals
  • Rob Cavestany – lead guitar, backing vocals, mixing
  • Gus Pepa – rhythm guitar
  • Dennis Pepa – bass, backing vocals on track 6
  • Andy Galeon – drums, backing vocals, mixing
Production
  • Max Norman – producer, engineer, mixing in November 1989 at Skip Saylor Recording, Los Angeles, California
  • Stoli Jaeger – engineer
  • Chris "Holmes" Puram – second engineer
  • George Marino – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City
  • Tom Zutaut – executive producer

References

  1. ^ Patrick Schmidt: Classic Albums: Death Angel "Act III" (1990), in: Rock Hard, Nr. 258, November 2008, S. 140–141.
  2. ^ "Metal Millennium Album Reviews – Death Angel – Act III". metalmillennium.tripod.com. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  3. ^ "Death Angel – Graspop Metal Meeting 2022". graspop.be. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "Diamonds & Rust: Death Angel – Act III". yourlastrites.com. July 31, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "DEATH ANGEL – The Dream Calls For Blood (2013)". Metal Forces. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Death Angel – 'Act III' – Metal Digest – The Normless Magazine". metal-digest.com. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  7. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Death Angel – Act III review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  9. ^ See Death Angel discography page for chart history.
  10. ^ "Headbangers Ball- The Unofficial Tribute Site – Episode Database". headbangersballunofficialtributesite.com. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  11. ^ "Death Angel Surprise Release New EP Under Pressure Featuring a Cover of Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" -". mxdwn Music. October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  12. ^ Popoff, Martin, ed. (2010). The top 500 heavy metal albums of all time. ECW Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-55490-245-3.