Review by Felix on May 18, 2019.

My first contact with Dark Angel came about through their contribution to the sixth issue of Metal Massacre, the probably most influential and most ass-kicking metal sampler series of all times. "Welcome to the Slaughter House" was a kind of promise. My metal brother and I enjoyed its dynamic, merciless approach and we were sure that these ruffians would be able to release highly interesting albums. Time has told us that we were right. Especially "Darkness Descends" has stood the test of time, but the band's debut also still makes fun every now and then. Well, I have to warn the comparatively young freaks who are only familiar with the late outputs of Dark Angel. To be cautious about this, We Have Arrived has not much in common with the complex material of Time Does Not Heal. It delivers a rather primitive song-writing concept, but come on, "Show No Mercy" or "Kill 'em All" also did not score with academic compositions. These groundbreaking works have other qualities. However, let's keep the eye on Dark Angel's first longplayer.

The first sequence of the opening title track equals the intro of "Hell Awaits", but "We Have Arrived" appeared almost simultaneously. Therefore, this is rather a coincidence than an act of imitation. But as mentioned before, Dark Angel's seven tracks are less complicated than that of Slayer's eternal monument. They are clearly structured and can be inhaled easily. The less strong parts present run-of-the-mill thrash, the stronger sections live on their great riffs and a proper dose of velocity. The explosive "Merciless Death" presents some cutting guitars and an almost lacerating, catchy chorus. It has a lot of brutal charm, although its second version, released on "Darkness Descends" shows its superiority in view of the much better production. By contrast, the here reviewed full-length lacks pressure and force, but it comes along with natural, pure and belligerent. The stripped-down sound matches the clarity of great songs like the opener. "We Have Arrived" (the track) scores with straight lines and a menacing chorus. Well-dosed high-pitched screams of Don Doty make the picture complete.

Some tracks have fallen into oblivion and that's a pity, because pieces like "Falling from the Sky" still present solid, slightly naive thrash. Okay, the band has lent the air raid siren from Atlain (listen to "Sphinx" from "Living in the Dark", released in 1984) in order to start this song, but this alone does not mean that the acceptable tune can keep up with the remaining compositions of the vinyl's A side. The entire B side also does not hold jewels in abundance, even though the minimally melancholic frame of "No Tomorrow" captures my attention. "Hell's on Its Knees" gives full speed ahead, but it suffers from an overlong acoustic intro. Be that as it may, it underlines the ability of the protagonists to write memorable choruses and the part after the intro impresses with compactness. Dark Angel were most likely influenced by Slayer's debut, some Hanneman/King-like solos point in this direction, but their debut stood on its own feet. Admittedly, it left room for improvement, but regardless of this, I regret that they never reached the status of idols as well. Guess my metal brother shares this point of view.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by JD on July 18, 2009.

San Francisco based Lionheart is one of the self proclaimed ‘MoshCore’ style of hardcore. A hardcore movement that has shades of metal throughout. Being an old punk fan from way, way back (Black Flag, old Corrosion Of Conformity and alike) I was eager to see what the band had to offer.

These days, I am not as big of a hardcore fan... as I am a metalhead, but I do respect the movement... Lionheart does not promote that feeling within me. Upon listening to them, it seems that they are just a regurgitation of Hatebreed or a poor Cro-Mags thing... I am not a big fan of Hatebreed at the best of times... but have liked some of that bands stuff over the years... and I am a huge fan of the Cro-Mags.

This is just a poorly constructed mirrored image of Hatebreed, to the point of it being rather obvious that is exactly what they were doing. The album has its moments along the way, but not enough to satisfy anyone... or to fool anyone either. They are just following the footsteps already planted without any sort of changes or advancements.

Some will really like the album, but for me... it is not good when you have to rip off some of your influences so badly to do it. Perhaps if they focused a little on making their sound more metal (My suggestion would be a sort of a doom/punk sort of thing, judging by the sound they can get) or at least to try and do something other than copy Hatebreed.

Literally copying other bands nearly killed off metal for good in the later part of the 80's and early 90's (the hair metal movement did not help)... with bands doing the same thing here, this punk movement could end up going the way of the Dodo bird. Extinct! I hear potential in this new breed of Hardcore, hope that these bands find their own voices rather than copy established acts.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Production: 5.5
Originality: 4
Overall: 5

Rating: 4.9 out of 10