Review by Felix on December 12, 2021.

Armoured Angel dudes have posthumously become a legend, at least in my private metal cosmos. Their, well, riffs of steel and their dense guitar carpet that build the basis for all of their songs pour out the spirit of violence in every second. In addition, their often chosen mid-tempo approach creates an iron sound which seems to be the acoustic equivalent of the sight of molten steel. These outsiders doubtlessly spread the message of pure heavy metal in an impressive manner. Please understand the words "heavy metal" as a generic term in this context. It is not meant as a genre description, because Armoured Angel play extremely sinister thrash. But their aura is exactly the aura that should be generated by an uncompromising metal band - and that's the reason why I was speaking of outsiders. True heavy metal does not originate from the centre of society.

It is a pity that Armoured Angel's discography is filled to the brim with EPs, while full-lengths remain a very rare commodity. However, the Australians make the best of the situation. Their compact formats are free from any kind of fillers. On the other hand, we must not renounce exciting highlights. The riffing of 'Enigmatize' combines catchiness and merciless intransigence excellently. It's by no means that kind of catchiness that has its eye on the mainstream audience. I am speaking of this strict, relentless and clear structure that also made songs such as 'Fallen Angel' (Possessed), 'Ordered To Kill' (At War) or 'Hell Awaits' (Ratt - haha, little joke) to earworms. And all these bands - with the exception of Ratt - are not too far away from the general approach of Armoured Angel, at least regarding the level of uncompromising power. Nonetheless, it remains a fact that this trio from down under has found a very individual style without integrating highly original or external elements. The terrific overall impression is created with the usual tools, but the band uses them in a very intelligent manner. By the way, I don't want to hide the fact that Mysterium also holds songs with comparatively fast eruptions, namely 'Heir To Evil' and 'Carved In Sin'. Anyway, it cannot be denied that the slower sections characterize this EP and the work of Armoured Angel in general.

Due to the powerful and almost impenetrable production, the music develops its full aroma. The riffs cut through the sound like a hot knife through butter and even a seemingly mild piece - the outro - offers some screaming guitars in addition to its casual flow. It is a little bit sad that the final number is an instrumental, because the deep, demonic and imperious vocals mark another strong feature of Armoured Angel's art. Some dudes will surely blame the lead vocals for being monotonous, but I guess the dick of these grumblers is simply too short (please recognise my high sophisticated way of argumentation). In other words: the lead singer does an outstanding job, because this type of music needs this commanding kind of singing. Metal was not invented to make many compromises. The here presented style of singing matches the musical way of proceeding and therefore everything is fine. The ironclad EP gives you the feeling of being placed between the hammer and the anvil and the guy who holds the hammer in his hand has never heard of things such as mildness, loss of power or humanity. However, this vinyl is meant for all those thrash metal freaks who choose heaviness instead of velocity and strictness instead of variety from time to time. The riffs of steel will definitely not disappoint them. If you have any doubts, buy the great re-release (grey vinyl, band photo on the B side) of Mysterium.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 12, 2021.

Armoured Angel dudes have posthumously become a legend, at least in my private metal cosmos. Their, well, riffs of steel and their dense guitar carpet that build the basis for all of their songs pour out the spirit of violence in every second. In addition, their often chosen mid-tempo approach creates an iron sound which seems to be the acoustic equivalent of the sight of molten steel. These outsiders doubtlessly spread the message of pure heavy metal in an impressive manner. Please understand the words "heavy metal" as a generic term in this context. It is not meant as a genre description, because Armoured Angel play extremely sinister thrash. But their aura is exactly the aura that should be generated by an uncompromising metal band - and that's the reason why I was speaking of outsiders. True heavy metal does not originate from the centre of society.

It is a pity that Armoured Angel's discography is filled to the brim with EPs, while full-lengths remain a very rare commodity. However, the Australians make the best of the situation. Their compact formats are free from any kind of fillers. On the other hand, we must not renounce exciting highlights. The riffing of 'Enigmatize' combines catchiness and merciless intransigence excellently. It's by no means that kind of catchiness that has its eye on the mainstream audience. I am speaking of this strict, relentless and clear structure that also made songs such as 'Fallen Angel' (Possessed), 'Ordered To Kill' (At War) or 'Hell Awaits' (Ratt - haha, little joke) to earworms. And all these bands - with the exception of Ratt - are not too far away from the general approach of Armoured Angel, at least regarding the level of uncompromising power. Nonetheless, it remains a fact that this trio from down under has found a very individual style without integrating highly original or external elements. The terrific overall impression is created with the usual tools, but the band uses them in a very intelligent manner. By the way, I don't want to hide the fact that Mysterium also holds songs with comparatively fast eruptions, namely 'Heir To Evil' and 'Carved In Sin'. Anyway, it cannot be denied that the slower sections characterize this EP and the work of Armoured Angel in general.

Due to the powerful and almost impenetrable production, the music develops its full aroma. The riffs cut through the sound like a hot knife through butter and even a seemingly mild piece - the outro - offers some screaming guitars in addition to its casual flow. It is a little bit sad that the final number is an instrumental, because the deep, demonic and imperious vocals mark another strong feature of Armoured Angel's art. Some dudes will surely blame the lead vocals for being monotonous, but I guess the dick of these grumblers is simply too short (please recognise my high sophisticated way of argumentation). In other words: the lead singer does an outstanding job, because this type of music needs this commanding kind of singing. Metal was not invented to make many compromises. The here presented style of singing matches the musical way of proceeding and therefore everything is fine. The ironclad EP gives you the feeling of being placed between the hammer and the anvil and the guy who holds the hammer in his hand has never heard of things such as mildness, loss of power or humanity. However, this vinyl is meant for all those thrash metal freaks who choose heaviness instead of velocity and strictness instead of variety from time to time. The riffs of steel will definitely not disappoint them. If you have any doubts, buy the great re-release (grey vinyl, band photo on the B side) of Mysterium.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on December 12, 2021.

Armoured Angel dudes have posthumously become a legend, at least in my private metal cosmos. Their, well, riffs of steel and their dense guitar carpet that build the basis for all of their songs pour out the spirit of violence in every second. In addition, their often chosen mid-tempo approach creates an iron sound which seems to be the acoustic equivalent of the sight of molten steel. These outsiders doubtlessly spread the message of pure heavy metal in an impressive manner. Please understand the words "heavy metal" as a generic term in this context. It is not meant as a genre description, because Armoured Angel play extremely sinister thrash. But their aura is exactly the aura that should be generated by an uncompromising metal band - and that's the reason why I was speaking of outsiders. True heavy metal does not originate from the centre of society.

It is a pity that Armoured Angel's discography is filled to the brim with EPs, while full-lengths remain a very rare commodity. However, the Australians make the best of the situation. Their compact formats are free from any kind of fillers. On the other hand, we must not renounce exciting highlights. The riffing of 'Enigmatize' combines catchiness and merciless intransigence excellently. It's by no means that kind of catchiness that has its eye on the mainstream audience. I am speaking of this strict, relentless and clear structure that also made songs such as 'Fallen Angel' (Possessed), 'Ordered To Kill' (At War) or 'Hell Awaits' (Ratt - haha, little joke) to earworms. And all these bands - with the exception of Ratt - are not too far away from the general approach of Armoured Angel, at least regarding the level of uncompromising power. Nonetheless, it remains a fact that this trio from down under has found a very individual style without integrating highly original or external elements. The terrific overall impression is created with the usual tools, but the band uses them in a very intelligent manner. By the way, I don't want to hide the fact that Mysterium also holds songs with comparatively fast eruptions, namely 'Heir To Evil' and 'Carved In Sin'. Anyway, it cannot be denied that the slower sections characterize this EP and the work of Armoured Angel in general.

Due to the powerful and almost impenetrable production, the music develops its full aroma. The riffs cut through the sound like a hot knife through butter and even a seemingly mild piece - the outro - offers some screaming guitars in addition to its casual flow. It is a little bit sad that the final number is an instrumental, because the deep, demonic and imperious vocals mark another strong feature of Armoured Angel's art. Some dudes will surely blame the lead vocals for being monotonous, but I guess the dick of these grumblers is simply too short (please recognise my high sophisticated way of argumentation). In other words: the lead singer does an outstanding job, because this type of music needs this commanding kind of singing. Metal was not invented to make many compromises. The here presented style of singing matches the musical way of proceeding and therefore everything is fine. The ironclad EP gives you the feeling of being placed between the hammer and the anvil and the guy who holds the hammer in his hand has never heard of things such as mildness, loss of power or humanity. However, this vinyl is meant for all those thrash metal freaks who choose heaviness instead of velocity and strictness instead of variety from time to time. The riffs of steel will definitely not disappoint them. If you have any doubts, buy the great re-release (grey vinyl, band photo on the B side) of Mysterium.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Fran on May 10, 2025.

In all honesty, I'm not that big on Denouncement Pyre, and this is really for no special reason. It's just those very few times that I've heard them, it didn't click with me. The reason why I have this split LP on my shelf is, and you've probably guessed it, the Diocletian part. Of course, tastes evolve, so I decided to give this one another spin, and then pour my findings into a blathering review of sorts. Yes, that sounds like a plan, alright.

So here we are, and so is Denouncement Pyre. Listening to this, I immediately realize why the music didn't click with me, and that is because their take on the black/death metal style is more focused on streamlined execution and a warped sense of melody, in place of balls-out dementia and frothing at the mouth aggression. Does that make it bad? No, not in the slightest. The band does put in a varied effort that combines a rolling sense of midtempo pacing with faster parts, with the whole being firmly rooted in the 90s Scandinavian sound, with a death metal twist added. They have me somewhat thinking of what bands such as Forest of Impaled, early Belphegor, In Aeternum and late 90's/early 00's Gehenna (NOR) did. It's a well-executed blend of tremolo-picked riffing, blasting velocity, scraping dissonance and a ferociously growling vocal delivery, brought with an energetic flow that also betrays a subtle thrash metal influence. This melange is being held together by a decent production that does not overdo it on the modern trickery, thankfully, but could've used more fleshing out when it came to the guitar sound. Despite this little slip-up, the music manages to maintain enough grit and subtle flowing force to strike out in a convincing manner, which honestly suits me well enough.

Well then, on with the part I bought this for, the mighty Diocletian, who do what they always do, and that is to batter the listener senseless with brute force. This is a total war metal 101, alright. Guitars like belt sanders are roaring on with relentless force, underpinned by a battering full speed ahead assault of blastbeats artillery, while a croaking madman is spewing forth blasphemous intonations with vomitous force. Throughout, there are screeching dive-bomb guitar leads strewn about, with only some occasional slower pounding section allowing some breathing space in between. With a production that follows suit in all of this with a firm focus on blunt force, Diocletian mostly does what you've come to expect from them, which is letting loose with reckless abandon. It's nothing you're not familiar with; there are plenty of parallels to be made with like-minded spirits such as Necroholocaust, Black Witchery and Nuclear Desecration, but Diocletian can follow in their trail with ease, exuding the same lunatic power and demented aggression as their brethren.

As a split, this is a varied twosome for sure. Where the A side has the streamlined variation of Denouncement Pyre on offer, the B side fulfills the raging noise quota with ease, with both establishing a different sort of aggression, while still exuding the same vibe. For those who like their black/death metal in a broader sense, this is recommended stuff.

Rating: 8 out of 10