After two eager but fairly ho-hum releases, the Bay Area's Death Angel matured quite a bit on their third release and first on a major label. Seemingly poised on the edge of elusive success, Death Angel naturally hit the wall as vocalist Mark Osegueda left the band afterwards. The band continued on with guitarist Rob Cavestany taking over lead vocals and they switched their name to The Organization (one of the songs from Act III). Then they immediately spiralled into complete obscurity. Nevertheless, Death Angel (upcoming reunion efforts not withstanding) left on a pretty good note with Act III.

The first two Death Angel albums were enthusiastic, as many thrash records were, but lacking quite a bit on the songwriting front. Considering the youthfulness of the band at that point, it comes as no surprise. However, Act III finds the band presenting new depth to their music. Bassist Dennis Pepa shows a little slappiness to his playing while the guitars offered something beyond simple thrash riffing. The band also showed they could tackle a more somber approach with the acoustically based "A Room With a View" and "Veil of Deception". The interplay between the musicians, particularly in the rhythm section, is quite solid throughout this record. Morever, the songs are quite memorable. The band had graduated from thrash beginnings into something a bit more intriguing and more singularly identifiable. It is a bit of a shame that the band was unable to follow through with any more releases.

While not exactly a masterpiece of the era, Act III is one of those solid metal records that deserve some attention even today. Between good songwriting and strong musicianship, Death Angel left their mark with a very good record.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 12/2003

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