Second Rate Angels

Reviewed by Sagiv Shaniv

Artist: Second Rate Angels
Album: Second Rate Angels – EP
Label: Self Released
Date of Release: July 14th 2012

Tracklist:
1. Loose Connection
2. One Life
3. Spaced Apart

It is disputed by few that Metallica’s golden age has been gone for about two decades now. Or is it?

Second Rate Angels’ self-titled EP gets us all back to true and authentic Melodic-Thrash metal, very similar to the style’s highlights that had been played throughout the 80’-90’.
SRA is a new band, formed in 2011. The EP includes three songs: Loose Connection, One Life and Spaced Apart.
Probably the most noticeable thing featured in the release is Dave Gobran’s melodic voice, being not typical for our days’ new wave of Thrash, which is greatly influenced by death screams and growls.
Nonetheless, Dave bombards us with a load of powerful vocals that would make Max Cavalera satisfied, even if it lacks a little bit from his aggression. Anyway, Dave’s voice is very inviting most of the time and serves as a fine welcome to the band and its music.
A thing I don’t quite understand is the band’s self-association to metalcore. Metalcore influences on the band are hardly felt, with the only true influence I strongly felt is occasional harsh screams by Dave.

As for the music, it is good and well written, but with very, very little to renew.
Frankly, there is little to write about it. The band plays nearly identically to early and even late Anthrax or Megadeth, with minor notable metalcore licks and techniques, making it a fully traditional band that probably does not aim to renew anything, but only make more of the good ol’ formula.
But perhaps it is due to the nature of thrash: Little progression with anything concerning musical creativity and innovation, and sticking to the roots as much as possible (only partially true about Metallica, with no further explains needed).
As a result of the new wave of thrash metal that engulfs the world wide scene over the recent years, bands that play traditional thrash and stick to its course are facing difficulties standing out for big crowds; the bands that get bigger attention are those that combine other genres with thrash, mostly death and metalcore, with less melodies and smooth playing. I think that their lack of musical innovation in addition to the fact they are a new band that was formed only last year makes them less “visible” to the big crowds that look for new interesting music. Yet still, the band’s characteristics listed above might come up eventually as a two edged blade – listeners will get attracted over the time to a band that does the same as done over and over throughout the last three decades, looking for new music that only sounds old (A thing that the production can be credited for, although I think that if the band had a larger budget, which I assume to be limited with the band being unsigned, the production would’ve been much more clean and sharp).
The EP is very good for a first release of a band, with the musicians’ passion for music transferred via it, but I don’t think I’ll follow the band as it makes its progress throughout the musical world; for I’m not much of a thrasher and never was, and I dislike listening to music that was done 20 years ago under the cover of a “revival” of a genre.

7/10