Death Angel

Out of the many original Bay Area thrash metal outfits that have come, gone and come back few have any reason to continue existing. As their fellow genre stalwarts grow increasingly bloated and pointless, only Death Angel seem able to maintain some semblance of reality, vitality and sensibility years into their, well, comeback. The proof is in the pudding and Sonic German Beatdown, recorded live (circa 2007), is a relentless blast of past and present Angel that never ceases to amaze or awe. Even the odd bum note is actually kind of cool. Powerful and packed with technical proficiency, enthusiasm and the band's best 15 tracks, give or take, this is one of few occasions where a live album surpasses some studio affairs. Representing everything in their canon, from debut effort The Ultra-Violence through to 2008's Killing Season, Sonic German Beatdown is a greatest hits package delivered with gusto. The same gusto Death Angel's cohorts are unable to recapture.