REVIEW FOR FEBRUARY 12, 2004 (MARCH 24, 2004)

OF ANGELS AND GRAVEDIGGERS
OF ANGELS AND GRAVEDIGGERS
SELF-RELEASED, 2003
3 OUT OF 5
 
Of Angels and Gravediggers is the self-titled debut of a band from Tampa, Florida that plays metalcore-tinged mid-paced death metal.  To be honest, I like this album but it isn't one of my favourites.  There really isn't much to say about Of Angels and Gravediggers given that the band is above-average but rather repetitive in the nature of its sound.  The album is decent enough, but it seems to be going through the motions.  Nick Ryley's vocals are credible enough death grunts but they seem rather generic and unenthusiastic in nature.  The mid-paced music is good enough but there doesn't seem to be anything separating Of Angels and Gravediggers from its peers.  Essentially, what is being reviewed here is yer typical debut death metal album: it's entertaining enough and worth someone's time but it doesn't do much to establish the band as anything other than yet another metal band from a metal hotbed hoping for bigger things to come.  There's nothing actively terrible about Of Angels and Gravediggers, mind you, but there's nothing that actively great about the album either.  I have a feeling this band could go someplace, but for mid-paced death metal Of Angels and Gravediggers is going to have to be a lot more interesting the second time around.  Here's hoping the band builds on its foundations, because Of Angels and Gravediggers is off to a promising start.
 
OF ANGELS AND GRAVEDIGGERS
10105 N. Florence Ave.
Tampa, FL 33612
USA
[email protected]