Angel – Risen – Cleopatra
By Jeffrey Easton
The 1970s were the golden era and possibly the most groundbreaking for rock bands of any genre. Whether it was metal, prog, glam, hard rock, southern ect it made its mark. Out of all the bands that made it or could have, Angel is the band that Should have made it. Dropping 5 studio and one live album between 1975 and 1980 they had multiple missed opportunities to cash in on the quality material they were producing on each release. With the dawn of the 80s the band faded away with only Gregg Giuffria having any real success with his bands Giuffria and House Of Lords. Then came 1999 and a reunion of sorts with the release of the ill timed and ill fated In The Beginning, an album that was best left on the shelf and is hard to find. Now we find ourselves another 20 years in the future with yet another Angel release, Risen, which should have been aptly titled. Whereas I give Angel props for giving dropping new music a shot, I do detract for the lyrics thinking its still 1985. The music for the most part flows from track to track, however dated it does sound. The riffs are solid but not something I haven’t heard a thousand times before. The song titles speak volumes about what decade this album is stuck in: Shot Of Your Love, Under The Gun, We Were The Wild, Desire, Tell Me Why. If this all sounds like it has been done to death you would be correct. I wanted this to be a grand return. Punky and Frank sharing the same stage and in the same studio after 4 decades, I had a great feeling and whereas this is not a bad album it is not what they are capable of. This is an 70s/80s arena rock album on steroids and if that’s what gets you off then have at it.
BUY Risen
BUY Risen on Vinyl
By Jeffrey Easton
The 1970s were the golden era and possibly the most groundbreaking for rock bands of any genre. Whether it was metal, prog, glam, hard rock, southern ect it made its mark. Out of all the bands that made it or could have, Angel is the band that Should have made it. Dropping 5 studio and one live album between 1975 and 1980 they had multiple missed opportunities to cash in on the quality material they were producing on each release. With the dawn of the 80s the band faded away with only Gregg Giuffria having any real success with his bands Giuffria and House Of Lords. Then came 1999 and a reunion of sorts with the release of the ill timed and ill fated In The Beginning, an album that was best left on the shelf and is hard to find. Now we find ourselves another 20 years in the future with yet another Angel release, Risen, which should have been aptly titled. Whereas I give Angel props for giving dropping new music a shot, I do detract for the lyrics thinking its still 1985. The music for the most part flows from track to track, however dated it does sound. The riffs are solid but not something I haven’t heard a thousand times before. The song titles speak volumes about what decade this album is stuck in: Shot Of Your Love, Under The Gun, We Were The Wild, Desire, Tell Me Why. If this all sounds like it has been done to death you would be correct. I wanted this to be a grand return. Punky and Frank sharing the same stage and in the same studio after 4 decades, I had a great feeling and whereas this is not a bad album it is not what they are capable of. This is an 70s/80s arena rock album on steroids and if that’s what gets you off then have at it.
BUY Risen
BUY Risen on Vinyl