ARMOURED ANGEL (Aus) – ‘Mysterium’ MLP

Grey vinyl, etched side B. Formed in 1982 and disbanding in 2001, ARMOURED ANGEL were Australia’s very first extreme metal band – and for many years, one of its only ones. Originally released in 1994 on CD, Mysterium sees ARMOURED ANGEL staying true to their principles and further finessing their trademark style: patient, pulsing, and largely mid-tempo death metal rife with nuance and molten power to spare. Contemporaries could be likened to Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, and Gorefest, but there’s always been a certain clarity of expression to ARMOURED ANGEL that favorably compares to later Amebix, and they mine this melancholic melodicism to the max on Mysterium.