Dark Angel’s influence on Devastation

Uncanny similarity (although not a ripoff). It’s no secret that Devastation site Dark Angel as a influence. But both bands released these albums the same year in 1991.

Idolatry and Time Does Not Heal are two of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

Required Fields wrote:

Idolatry and Time Does Not Heal are two of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

Both albums are brutal and heavy! 1991 was a weird year… because we had some of the best thrash and death metal albums and then all of a sudden, Nirvana gets huge.

Troublezone wrote:

Required Fields wrote:

Idolatry and Time Does Not Heal are two of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

Both albums are brutal and heavy! 1991 was a weird year… because we had some of the best thrash and death metal albums and then all of a sudden, Nirvana gets huge.

That's exactly how i feel about the early 90's. Some of the best metal came out during those couple of years.

Troublezone wrote:

Required Fields wrote:

Idolatry and Time Does Not Heal are two of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

Both albums are brutal and heavy! 1991 was a weird year… because we had some of the best thrash and death metal albums and then all of a sudden, Nirvana gets huge.

Nirvana didn't impact either scene, really. Death metal has never really had a "lull" period, and thrash metal kind of disappeared for other reasons entirely.

Thrash died off, but that wasn't because of Nirvana or grunge. It was because of the rise in other genres. A lot of the thrash metal bands changed their sound, but in all honesty, I think a lot of them might have wanted to do something different after a while. Groove metal such as Pantera exploded in the early 1990s, and that became the sound the metal oriented record labels wanted to push. A lot of thrash metal bands who soldiered on changed their sound, and many went for the more Pantera inspired sound. (Another reason an alternate name for the groove metal scene is "post-thrash".) There were a few death metal bands in the 1980s (at least who had proper studio albums or EPs out), but it didn't really come into its own properly until around 1990. Look at the massive number of death metal bands who released their debut albums in 1990 and 1991 compared to the 1980s.

Still, around the mid to late 1990s, thrash metal was close to nonexistent. Even if you looked extremely hard for thrash metal, it was virtually impossible to find a new album that could be considered proper thrash metal. Almost all of the bands had split up or changed their sound. Metallica being the most obvious here. In the late 1990s, you did have bands like Overkill, Testament, and Slayer still putting out albums, but those new albums, such as Diabolus in Musica (Slayer), Demonic (Testament), and Necroshine (Overkill) were definitely not fully thrash metal albums. You also had Sepultura, who had not only changed their sound, but even began to generally almost entirely ignore their thrash metal era for their live concert setlists starting in the late 1990s. (At least bands like Slayer would play the old songs live while making albums like Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All.)

I'd say this is why thrash metal made a comeback in the 21st century. I'd imagine a lot of younger metalheads who got into the thrash metal bands after the scene died off thought "Why aren't there any new bands like this?" Every band that was still active had moved away from that sound, and there was no one new who had a comparable sound that they could find. They never got to experience the thrash metal scene when it was active, so they decided to record their own music in that style.

Death metal has always been more of an underground thing, so I do find it weird that it gets mentioned in some mainstream sources by people who know next to nothing about metal. Of course, a lot of people out there seem to categorize any band heavier than Linkin Park as "death metal" for some reason. At least with thrash, you have a very small number of bands known to the mainstream. There has never been a gold certified death metal album ever. (I read that Death's Human is the highest selling proper death metal album of all time, and it has sold about 700,000 or so copies worldwide. I'm not sure what date that covers up to, and how much it has sold since, or how many of those copies are in North America.)

There was another Texas band that got influenced by Dark Angel / Devastation.  Check out Hammer Witch, and their demo Legacy of Pain.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Hammer_Witch/1933

Required Fields wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Required Fields wrote:

Idolatry and Time Does Not Heal are two of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

Both albums are brutal and heavy! 1991 was a weird year… because we had some of the best thrash and death metal albums and then all of a sudden, Nirvana gets huge.

Nirvana didn't impact either scene, really. Death metal has never really had a "lull" period, and thrash metal kind of disappeared for other reasons entirely.

Thrash died off, but that wasn't because of Nirvana or grunge. It was because of the rise in other genres. A lot of the thrash metal bands changed their sound, but in all honesty, I think a lot of them might have wanted to do something different after a while. Groove metal such as Pantera exploded in the early 1990s, and that became the sound the metal oriented record labels wanted to push. A lot of thrash metal bands who soldiered on changed their sound, and many went for the more Pantera inspired sound. (Another reason an alternate name for the groove metal scene is "post-thrash".) There were a few death metal bands in the 1980s (at least who had proper studio albums or EPs out), but it didn't really come into its own properly until around 1990. Look at the massive number of death metal bands who released their debut albums in 1990 and 1991 compared to the 1980s.

Still, around the mid to late 1990s, thrash metal was close to nonexistent. Even if you looked extremely hard for thrash metal, it was virtually impossible to find a new album that could be considered proper thrash metal. Almost all of the bands had split up or changed their sound. Metallica being the most obvious here. In the late 1990s, you did have bands like Overkill, Testament, and Slayer still putting out albums, but those new albums, such as Diabolus in Musica (Slayer), Demonic (Testament), and Necroshine (Overkill) were definitely not fully thrash metal albums. You also had Sepultura, who had not only changed their sound, but even began to generally almost entirely ignore their thrash metal era for their live concert setlists starting in the late 1990s. (At least bands like Slayer would play the old songs live while making albums like Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All.)

I'd say this is why thrash metal made a comeback in the 21st century. I'd imagine a lot of younger metalheads who got into the thrash metal bands after the scene died off thought "Why aren't there any new bands like this?" Every band that was still active had moved away from that sound, and there was no one new who had a comparable sound that they could find. They never got to experience the thrash metal scene when it was active, so they decided to record their own music in that style.

Death metal has always been more of an underground thing, so I do find it weird that it gets mentioned in some mainstream sources by people who know next to nothing about metal. Of course, a lot of people out there seem to categorize any band heavier than Linkin Park as "death metal" for some reason. At least with thrash, you have a very small number of bands known to the mainstream. There has never been a gold certified death metal album ever. (I read that Death's Human is the highest selling proper death metal album of all time, and it has sold about 700,000 or so copies worldwide. I'm not sure what date that covers up to, and how much it has sold since, or how many of those copies are in North America.)

Well you have to admit that thrash had a pinnacle period of popularity on MTV’s headbanger’s ball around 1987 to 1990. Not exactly under the radar. Especially the Big 4. I should know… I watched it happen (I’m a bit older than you).

I also remember what a big deal the “Clash of the Titans” tour was. A huge success! Big crowds.

Troublezone wrote:

Required Fields wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Required Fields wrote:

Idolatry and Time Does Not Heal are two of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

Both albums are brutal and heavy! 1991 was a weird year… because we had some of the best thrash and death metal albums and then all of a sudden, Nirvana gets huge.

Nirvana didn't impact either scene, really. Death metal has never really had a "lull" period, and thrash metal kind of disappeared for other reasons entirely.

Thrash died off, but that wasn't because of Nirvana or grunge. It was because of the rise in other genres. A lot of the thrash metal bands changed their sound, but in all honesty, I think a lot of them might have wanted to do something different after a while. Groove metal such as Pantera exploded in the early 1990s, and that became the sound the metal oriented record labels wanted to push. A lot of thrash metal bands who soldiered on changed their sound, and many went for the more Pantera inspired sound. (Another reason an alternate name for the groove metal scene is "post-thrash".) There were a few death metal bands in the 1980s (at least who had proper studio albums or EPs out), but it didn't really come into its own properly until around 1990. Look at the massive number of death metal bands who released their debut albums in 1990 and 1991 compared to the 1980s.

Still, around the mid to late 1990s, thrash metal was close to nonexistent. Even if you looked extremely hard for thrash metal, it was virtually impossible to find a new album that could be considered proper thrash metal. Almost all of the bands had split up or changed their sound. Metallica being the most obvious here. In the late 1990s, you did have bands like Overkill, Testament, and Slayer still putting out albums, but those new albums, such as Diabolus in Musica (Slayer), Demonic (Testament), and Necroshine (Overkill) were definitely not fully thrash metal albums. You also had Sepultura, who had not only changed their sound, but even began to generally almost entirely ignore their thrash metal era for their live concert setlists starting in the late 1990s. (At least bands like Slayer would play the old songs live while making albums like Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All.)

I'd say this is why thrash metal made a comeback in the 21st century. I'd imagine a lot of younger metalheads who got into the thrash metal bands after the scene died off thought "Why aren't there any new bands like this?" Every band that was still active had moved away from that sound, and there was no one new who had a comparable sound that they could find. They never got to experience the thrash metal scene when it was active, so they decided to record their own music in that style.

Death metal has always been more of an underground thing, so I do find it weird that it gets mentioned in some mainstream sources by people who know next to nothing about metal. Of course, a lot of people out there seem to categorize any band heavier than Linkin Park as "death metal" for some reason. At least with thrash, you have a very small number of bands known to the mainstream. There has never been a gold certified death metal album ever. (I read that Death's Human is the highest selling proper death metal album of all time, and it has sold about 700,000 or so copies worldwide. I'm not sure what date that covers up to, and how much it has sold since, or how many of those copies are in North America.)

Well you have to admit that thrash had a pinnacle period of popularity on MTV’s headbanger’s ball around 1987 to 1990. Not exactly under the radar. Especially the Big 4. I should know… I watched it happen (I’m a bit older than you).

I also remember what a big deal the “Clash of the Titans” tour was. A huge success! Big crowds.

Exactly. Excellent point.

007 wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Required Fields wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

Required Fields wrote:

Idolatry and Time Does Not Heal are two of my favorite albums of the 1990s.

Both albums are brutal and heavy! 1991 was a weird year… because we had some of the best thrash and death metal albums and then all of a sudden, Nirvana gets huge.

Nirvana didn't impact either scene, really. Death metal has never really had a "lull" period, and thrash metal kind of disappeared for other reasons entirely.

Thrash died off, but that wasn't because of Nirvana or grunge. It was because of the rise in other genres. A lot of the thrash metal bands changed their sound, but in all honesty, I think a lot of them might have wanted to do something different after a while. Groove metal such as Pantera exploded in the early 1990s, and that became the sound the metal oriented record labels wanted to push. A lot of thrash metal bands who soldiered on changed their sound, and many went for the more Pantera inspired sound. (Another reason an alternate name for the groove metal scene is "post-thrash".) There were a few death metal bands in the 1980s (at least who had proper studio albums or EPs out), but it didn't really come into its own properly until around 1990. Look at the massive number of death metal bands who released their debut albums in 1990 and 1991 compared to the 1980s.

Still, around the mid to late 1990s, thrash metal was close to nonexistent. Even if you looked extremely hard for thrash metal, it was virtually impossible to find a new album that could be considered proper thrash metal. Almost all of the bands had split up or changed their sound. Metallica being the most obvious here. In the late 1990s, you did have bands like Overkill, Testament, and Slayer still putting out albums, but those new albums, such as Diabolus in Musica (Slayer), Demonic (Testament), and Necroshine (Overkill) were definitely not fully thrash metal albums. You also had Sepultura, who had not only changed their sound, but even began to generally almost entirely ignore their thrash metal era for their live concert setlists starting in the late 1990s. (At least bands like Slayer would play the old songs live while making albums like Diabolus in Musica and God Hates Us All.)

I'd say this is why thrash metal made a comeback in the 21st century. I'd imagine a lot of younger metalheads who got into the thrash metal bands after the scene died off thought "Why aren't there any new bands like this?" Every band that was still active had moved away from that sound, and there was no one new who had a comparable sound that they could find. They never got to experience the thrash metal scene when it was active, so they decided to record their own music in that style.

Death metal has always been more of an underground thing, so I do find it weird that it gets mentioned in some mainstream sources by people who know next to nothing about metal. Of course, a lot of people out there seem to categorize any band heavier than Linkin Park as "death metal" for some reason. At least with thrash, you have a very small number of bands known to the mainstream. There has never been a gold certified death metal album ever. (I read that Death's Human is the highest selling proper death metal album of all time, and it has sold about 700,000 or so copies worldwide. I'm not sure what date that covers up to, and how much it has sold since, or how many of those copies are in North America.)

Well you have to admit that thrash had a pinnacle period of popularity on MTV’s headbanger’s ball around 1987 to 1990. Not exactly under the radar. Especially the Big 4. I should know… I watched it happen (I’m a bit older than you).

I also remember what a big deal the “Clash of the Titans” tour was. A huge success! Big crowds.

Exactly. Excellent point.

Thanks.