Angel Dust: To Dust You Will Decay

Originally released in 1988, To Dust You Will Decay is the second album from German heavy metal band Angel Dust. Best known for their later power metal albums, Angel Dust actually got their start as part of the German speed metal scene, so this album bears very little resemblance to albums like Bleed or Border of Reality.

To Dust You Will Decay is the only Angel Dust release to feature S.L. Coe (later with Scanner) on vocals. Like their debut (1986’s Into the Dark Past), this album is along the same lines as early Grave Digger, Running Wild and especially Blind Guardian releases. It’s high speed, headbanging heavy metal all the way, though between Coe’s vocals and just a plain improved songwriting, this is a more melodic offering than the debut. It’s not what we’d consider power metal today, but you could see how they were heading in that direction. To Dust You Will Decay is a stronger album overall than its predecessor, and just a very good example of the German speed metal sound in general.

If you’re one of the many die-hard Angel Dust fans that have been waiting forever to finally hear the band in their early years, this new reissue of To Dust You Will Decay is a must-have. Serious fans and collectors of the ‘80s German speed metal bands will also find this well worth picking up.

Reissue Notes: After way too long out of print (and existing on CD mainly due to bootlegs), To Dust You Will Decay was finally reissued in 2016 by the No Remorse label. The reissue features remastered audio and five bonus tracks (demos, apparently). The liner notes are kind of sparse, but the album sounds great and it’s just good to finally have a proper, legitimate CD reissue of this long lost German speed metal album.

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