It's been a long time coming and people are worried which version of the San Fran youngsters would be revived, the one which recorded the thrash-terpiece, The Ultra-Violence or the funky, Frolic Through The Park, a potential fully realized in their post-Angel outfit, The Organization. Older, and wiser, Death Angel has issued an amalgamation of their previous works, plus a few new twists. This is not a balls-out, thrash-only record, but then Death Angel never were about that (OK, perhaps the debut). An acoustic guitar intro opens the latest dozen. The penchant for lengthy compositions remains, as the frenetic (proper) opener, 'Thrown To The Wolves', clocks in at 6:53, with an extended, crescendo-building coda. 'Thicker Than Blood', 'No' and 'Land Of Blood' (complete with hardcore-style gang vocals in the chorus) are, by contrast, short (roughly three and a half minutes each), punk-influenced cuts. The first of the trio owes a passing nod to Motorhead's take on metal. All feature guitar breaks, albeit not as involved as the full-bodied tracks. 'Famine' descends into jangly guitar, moody territory, with only the occasional fierce moment, as does '5 Steps Of Freedom'. 'The Devil Incarnate' is a mid-tempo, traditional metal number, until the final third, when it adopts Death Angel's hallmark sound. About five minutes into 'Spirit', the band slips into a subdued, blues mode, but just as quickly snaps out of it. 'Never Me' has an even longer bluesy passage. The album threatens to ends, much as it began, acoustically, although the cautiously optimistic tale 'Word To The Wise' bookends a few minutes of electricity between its acoustic opening and close. There's a ton of groove within this, and several others on The Art Of Dying. Not sure what people are expecting, particularly in light of the slew of recent reformation that have spawned killer returns (read: Exodus and Dismember), but judged on its own merits, The Art Of Dying is diversity, which honors the original era, without sounding dated. Welcome back!