Review by Felix on December 13, 2025.

At some point before the recording of "Angel Of The Sixth Order", bass guitarist Lucy suffered the fate of Algy Ward. Two brothers, who had formed a band with him, left the project. Well, there was a life for Tank after the Brabbs brothers – and Armoured Angel also did not die a sudden death (but unfortunately they did at some point after the recording of the aforementioned album). Lucy held the banner high. And so it happened, after the Green brothers had pissed off, that the here reviewed work remained the only full-length of the semi-legendary EP creators from Down Under.

Either way, the fracture in the structure is not noticeable on the 1999 album. The songs, both their style and aura, stand in the tradition of the material which had been presented on the EPs. The re-recording of "Carved In Sin", the closer of the album, builds the most evident bridge to the tracks of the former line-up. There is also nothing innovative when it comes to the sound and this is simply cool. "Angel Of The Sixth Order" is sinister, free from nuances, but not blurred or powerless. The guitars are low tunes, while the throaty vocals avoid death metal growls. This loyalty to the band roots results already after the first two songs to an important finding. The unforgiving "Whore Of Babylon" and the swift, venomous "Eve Of Temptation" let us understand quickly, that it was a good idea of Lucy to go on – even if this thought vanished into thin air after this 42 minutes work.

Naturally, after the double strike at the beginning are still some good songs left to discover and to enjoy. From my point of view, "Gadarene Swine" marks the most impressive one. Maybe some extremely intolerant speed freaks will call it phlegmatic, but I feel the spirit of real metal haunt through its tones. The track reflects despair, sweat and last but not least the demons that are fought by Jesus in the biblical narrative of the same name. (By the way, I guess the references to the Bible give the album a special sinister taste.) The new version of "Carved In Sin" spreads excellent vibes as well, but a re-recording is always condemned to be a welcome bonus as best. Let's just look at it from the opposite perspective and we see that there is no downer, but a homogeneous, never boring collection of nine strong tracks. The only one which is not quite acting on the same level is "Seven Angels" due to some surprising and, to be honest, annoyingly light guitar sequences.

Regardless of the speed of the respective song, Armoured Angel's full-length mirrors bitterness, an uncompromising attitude and dedication. The song-writing skills of the then new formation did not stand in the shadow of the original line-up and so it is just a pity that this fantastic thrash (death) metal unit never got the respect it actually deserved. Anyway, at the end I am happy about the re-release of this underground classic, because even the songs that follow the absolute highlights, for example the aggressive "Thy Blood Eterne" make my day. If you do not know an output from these Australians so far, it is urgently necessary to change this situation. You cannot go wrong, whichever work you select. This is, by the way, a difference to Tank, even most of their albums are recommendable as well.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10