Death Angel don't deliver the hits on The Bastard Tracks

Nothing but deep cuts on Death Angel's brain-rattling live-in-the-studio collection The Bastard Tracks

Death Angel - The Bastard Tracks cover art
(Image: © Napalm Records)

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Imagine going to a show, let’s say Flock Of Seagulls, for example, and they refuse to play I Ran. Or Blue Oyster Cult decides: “Fuck it, you’ve heard (Don’t Fear) The Reaper too many times already.” 

Well, that’s the audacious conceit behind this live-without-an-audience Death Angel album. 

The Bastard Tracks delivers nothing but deep cuts from the long-running Bay Area thrashers, stuff only the diehards would recognise: tracks like Lord Of Hate from their 2008 album Killing SeasonSuccubus from their blistering 2013 album Dream Calls For Blood, and a pitch-perfect cover of Dio-era Sabbath’s Falling Off The Edge Of The World.

The good news is that it all sounds fantastic. At this point in their career Death Angel are so flawless in their execution that it sounds like a particularly raucous studio album, just one without all the hits. It’ll still rattle your brains into stew, though. 

Sleazegrinder

Came from the sky like a 747. Classic Rock’s least-reputable byline-grabber since 2003. Several decades deep into the music industry. Got fired from an early incarnation of Anal C**t after one show. 30 years later, got fired from the New York Times after one week. Likes rock and hates everything else. Still believes in Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, against all better judgment.