Dark Angel - Time Does Not Heal (1991)^{Release ID: 1470}

Time Does Not Heal is famous for the sheer number of riffs it contains. 246 to be precise. I have to say that doesn't impress me one little bit. If you fit 246 riffs into 9 songs, then those songs are very unlikely to be memorable and likely to vary in quality throughout. And that's exactly what happened with this album. The sound that Dark Angel created was solid and all the band members do what they set out to do well. But there just isn't all that much to hang onto and the massive length of the album leads to boredom by about halfway through. Metallica got away with writing long songs filled with riffs through damn good song writing and an ability to change things up throughout. But Dark Angel don't have as many weapons to play with and end up with 70 minutes of decent riffs thrown together.

If I listen to singular songs, then I quite enjoy Time Does Not Heal, Act of Contrition, Psychosexuality and A Subtle Induction. In fact, there aren't any moments on the album that are particularly bad, but with 8 out of 9 tracks going over the 6-minute mark and 3 of them over the 8-minute mark, they just don't have enough going for them to keep my interest for the whole running time. With a little bit of culling and a little more creativity, this album could have been on par with their classic Darkness Descends. As it is, I'm not sure how often I could get all the way through Time Does Not Heal.

I was thinking about trying to find one more thrash band that would be perfect enough to prove that I can fit well in The Pit, but ultimately, I decided that this can already be proven by a classic I'm already familiar with. One with... 246 RIFFS!!!! All of them rule as they strike through your mind and soul, taking control from beginning to end. Everyone has a different feeling when it comes to a certain album, and I find this album to be full of high-quality thrash genius!

The perfect lineup can show you more than just those killer riffs. The production is clean with audible instrumentation. Drummer Gene Hoglan adds some slower technicality alongside his usual fast thrash. Vocalist Ron Rinehart is a perfect fit here with strong vocals as the riffs from the guitarists slay away.

The title track starts with the first of those hundreds of riffs, slow before becoming lethally fast. The lyrics written by Hoglan are awesome, dealing with insanity and death in greater depths than the still perfect Darkness Descends. D*mn, even the music is incredible, including how well the bridges and choruses are structured. All that confirms that you're listening to one of the most complex and extreme thrash albums around. "Pain's Invention, Madness" has more of those many riffs, as Ron's flawless vocals continue following them. "Act Of Contrition" similar keeps up the variety of riffs to maintain your headbanging as always. The amazing soloing reaches the top compared to some other thrash albums. All this will make you stay in attention through the progressive length that most songs have.

Next one is one of my favorites, "The New Priesthood", in which lyrics detail modern technology surpassing religion. The intro riff is perhaps its most killer here. The most melodic and sinister at the same time track here is "Psychosexuality". Then comes one of my favorite songs in tech-thrash, and maybe all of thrash, "An Ancient Inherited Shame". The band's longest song at 9 minutes, all the riffs in the track kick a**. The progressive structure makes incredible tempo changes from slow to fast and in between. Dark Angel at their mightiest!

"Trauma and Catharsis" is f***ing superb, though the doom intro for nearly first two minutes is slightly unnecessary. However, the memorable fast riffing is still worth it, and the perfection is not affected. Rolling in a more sludge-ish pace, "Sensory Deprivation" is another magnificent track. While staying in the usual grand strength, the closing "A Subtle Induction" is the fastest song here and puts everything to a speedy end.

The Pit has spoken! This is what I truly desire from the clan, a technical heavy sound with awesome music and lyrics. People might think of Darkness Descends as the band's greatest album, and while they're right, Time Does Not Heal is very close to that reign as one of the greatest albums of thrash and tech-thrash. Truly standing the test of time!

Favorites: "Time Does Not Heal", "Act Of Contrition", "The New Priesthood", "An Ancient Inherited Shame", "Sensory Deprivation"