A previous Firing Squad dissection of this Ohio-bred unit turned up zero bullshit and a second examination reiterates my theory. Heart Turned Cold might not have the production values a metal masterpiece needs to overtake the masses, but the fierce metal heart of the band gleams yet again. A 45-minute Heartwork/Swansong-era Carcass exoskeleton surrounds this band’s Opeth/In Flames/Bolt Thrower persuasions, played with American flamboyance. Progressive sequences accentuate empowering buildups while acoustic and other nontraditional DM elements explode, but the groovy, mid-paced, DM core is what dominates. Indeed, Angelrust have released another victorious release. If they had a decent studio budget to get the levels more on-point (among other things), Angelrust is sure to rule the masses someday. The new one is $10 c/o: Andrew D’Cagnia, 614 Park St., Martins Ferry, Ohio 43935. www.angelrust.com - www.myspace.com/heartturnedcold - andrew@angelrust.com

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I have two CD's from these guys, one is Self Titled and it was recorded around 2003, the other Pale Portrait is the more recent one, coming out in 2004. After talking to Andrew from the band, I realized that their drummer Bob is from the legendary PA metal band Screaming Jesus, who was bigger in the 90's. They aren't as fast as Screaming J, however Bob is still one of the better drums out in the scene today. Small world. Anyway, great stuff here, I'm definitely a fan. Vocally it's a mix between black metal and death metals. Not obnoxious annoying vocals like in black metal, but not low death metal vocals either. Right in the middle. They also have some slower parts to the songs with someone singing, reminds me of the changes like in Shadows Fall. Melodic, fast, heavy and just all around a great band.

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This complex and absorbing CD is at first an audio dilemma. On first listens you are left wondering just what Angelrust, a quartet of talented individuals, are trying to achieve. Are they Goth? Are they prog-rock? Are they Black Metal (minus the coprsepaint)? Well, yes, all of the above, with splashes of Voivod-esque riffage thrown in for good measure. It makes for compelling listening. Here you will find grinding guitar work courtesy of Aaron Carey and Andrew D’Cagna, yet in the same song angelic melody that wouldn’t be out of place on a Nightwish album. With Frank Gordon on bass and one Bob Griffin on percussion completing the quartet, these guys have created something special indeed. Take the epic ‘Swallowed in Darkness’; it slithers menacingly from your speakers, the hoarse vocals of the aforementioned D’Cagna whisperingly haunting here, while opener ‘Pale Portrait’ boasts the most melancholy riff its been my displeasure to hear – George Harrison had no idea how a guitar could gently weep...

With 4 tracks in all (5 if you include the amazing hidden live version of the title track) and not one under the 5-minute mark, 'Pale Portrait' is by no means an immediate listen, but on repetitive plays an enjoyable one. Fans of experimental metal will lap this up - enjoy!

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Angelrust. Pale Portrait. Extremely "Opethian" in it's overall balance, Pale Portrait is a double edged blade- smooth, melodic anthems rising and falling around crisp, Swedish thrash. Tormented in spirit and talented in approach, this Ohio-based quartet have added another demo to it's growing legacy, one that should be awarded a "metal" medal for precision and musicianship. A few dueling guitar tones lean towards out-of-tune territories on occasion during the four otherwise flawless tracks here (which each range between 5 to 7 minutes). But, with that being my sole complaint after repeated listens, I predict this to be a highly sought release with some more exposure within it's aimed genre. Slaying riffs, intertwined tapping, winding axe duels, and a champ rhythm section, if you dig technical riveting thrash this is the perfect EP to pick up. Think Lilitu, Katatonia, and the aforementioned Opeth. A well-edited MPEG video of the title track joins as a bonus track and for the simple $7 the band is asking for this one, wait no longer and get in touch.

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Angelrust is a band trying to cross melodic Black Metal with OPETH. Not the easiest way to get your feet wet, but I'll be damned if they don't have enough musical talent and a good enough singer to make it work most of the time. They must have some money, too, because this 4-song CD is as pro-produced as all get out, plus it features a PC CD-ROM video file! Like I said, the attack is an even balance of mid-paced, melodic Black Metal with standard shrieking, and clean/acoustic interludes with actual singing. The latter portions find these guys wanting to be OPETH so bad it hurts. And the drawbacks there are obvious, the most prevalent being that as good as this guy is, he's no Mike Akerfeldt. Who is or ever will be? And then there's little things like the gruff backing vocals on "The Exile" which sound really stupid and out of place. But overall, these guys show enormous promise. Anyone that can work an acoustic guitar this beautifully and still rock the house are worth keeping an ear on. They're just not quite there yet.

Rating: 8 out of 10

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OK, here we have a melodic, aggressive death metal band of sorts from Ohio that call themselves Angelrust. This metal quartet comes across the board to me as a band with no definitive direction as of yet, being very early in their careers. I would hinder to say, though, that Angelrust have some great ideas and experiment a lot on this promo disc. There are a lot of catchy riffs and also some very odd turns in their songs. Like- you think there will be a tremendously catchy "bang-your-head" riff following a melodic-power chord riff... but you get an acoustic arpeggio (ex: "Perdition"). There are a lot of off-time solos that still seem to fit the songs nicely, so they are very tight and extremely technical at times! They also utilize the formula for clean and death vox, which in their case/sound actually fits the mold better than most. All of this entangled musicianship is solely based on death/thrash riffs. I will venture the word of "improvement" in small areas, but what they need not improve is their musical expertise and understanding for rich textures. Perhaps once they're signed, they will sound a little more free-flowing - but I dig it....

Rating: 75

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The most notable notion regarding the musical product of Angelrust is its innate lack of cohesiveness. They deliver the listener a batch of varied musical ideas of varying quality and interest, some of which entertain, but none of which are peculiarly innovative. The result is a compilation of detached metal-oriented tracks, some of them separately salvaged by flickering, fleeting demonstrations of creative spirit, which raises the whole to a level just above mediocrity.

Revolving around an abstract, semi-extreme metal core, the Ohio quartet explores different angles of aesthetic expression. First, their album features numerous elements of death metal in the vein of the latest products of the Swedish scene, composed of ordinary rhythms, simple melodies and harmonies processed to occupy trite guitars riffs overlain by standard growls reinforced by a chorus of clean vocal themes.

Now, it seems that after paying their popular debt, the band may allow itself to deal with some less catchy musical materials. While remaining far from being inventive or extravagant, some of the later pieces of the album include a vaster use of chromatic and bassy movements, generating a slightly sinister feel, especially when heard after a rather long period of absolute expressive dullness. Even if not especially interesting, the allegedly menacing segments of Angelrust are well composed and arranged; they never overly disorient or alienate the listener. The segments are always placed in a decipherable, somehow familiar context, thus giving the modestly unexpected moves of the composition more appeal.

Now, besides these two main ingredients, it should be noted that between these clearly opposed entities are also imbedded various other forms and brands of musical creation, including, for instance, a cliché-laden acoustic rock ballad, a most corny homage to thrash metal, and, for conclusion, a sort of over-pretentious magnum opus.

As the incoherence of the song sequence is well clarified, the last chance to find any sort of concept may be the lyrics. The texts on Angelrust's songs deal with different aspects of man's inner world of anxieties, fears, compulsions and obsessions. Unfortunately, they suffer from an absurd, obscurely dominant presence of the most worn out rock-poetry imagery (Take the band's name for a fine example). As genuine as they may actually be, their hilarious staleness utterly sterilizes any effect they could possibly have, rendering them sound like a satire at best.

Therefore, being impossible to locate any common denominator in order to impart the album with a sense fundamental character, one has no choice left but focus on each track as an independent piece. There is not much to rave about the instrumental performance: the vocals and drumming are reasonable; the guitar playing is usually bearable, yet at times features some unignorable technical flaws.

Nevertheless, as bleak as the overall depiction of Angelrust may seem, there still is a certain charm to the band's work. Apparently, some of the band members have quite a witty, inspired mind, motivating them to intersperse the album with weird, often creative and enjoyable anecdotes: a bass solo break accompanied by clean guitars; amusing, awfully trebly guitar parts as a sort of parody of the band's actual whimsically thin, crispy guitar sound; voice samples of a drunk asking for beer, and more. As impertinent (not to say infantile) as it may sound, these features, adjoined by the few aforementioned compositional merits, do make the overall listening experience of the album, even if definitely not essential, quite entertaining.

Do not make any special effort of acquiring Angelrust's promo. If you encounter it, do not place it on top of your listening priority list. However, if you have an hour to spare, and do not feel apt to be immersed in profound, meaningful musical creation, this may serve as a decent way to pass the time. (5.5/10)

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This was a surprise. I was not aware that a progressive metal band resided in Ohio outside of the Cleveland area. Up in Cleveland there is ARCHETYPE, and that's about it. ANGELRUST is a strange, enigmatic beast. One part grandiose power/prog, and one part melodic death metal, there are twists and turns in this album that always surprise. The musicianship is really good, the playing is tight (as evidenced by the live track), and when they want to thrash, they can. I'm not going to be a diehard for this band, but they've proved they have a place, and they know their worth. Decent stuff.

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Not the greatest name for a band since "Angel" and "Black" seem to be a never-ending focal point for names but this young Ohio band does show alot of promise with this 8-track release. They have an array of styles; something new, something old and somehow incorporating a fresh result. Imagine a cement mixer with SYL, Soilwork, Meshuggah and Cradle Of Filth mixed in; that's the interesting style this band comes up with. Dual-style vocals, some futuristic-sounding songs and alot of beefy riffs and great ideas melded into one. The music sways from melodic to extreme and just alot going on and made me a pretty happy listener. Definately worthwhile checking this band out and good to see more Ohio bands in this section, it's been quiet since last year!

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Angelrust. The further I got through this album, the more I liked it. Ohio’s Angelrust do a pretty good impression of Scandinavian melodic death blended with a bit of black metal (particularly the vocal style) and a healthy dose of doom riffing. Some of it reminds me of what the Black Dahlia Murder has created, just not with the same speed and song structure complexity. Then again, other tracks are purely progressive metal without the sissy shit and gloss. The production is fairly good; one that actually allows you to hear the ominous bass lines. The only thing I didn’t like were the sections of clean melodic singing, which I thought took the edge off and generally didn’t fit with the rest of the music. I’d rather they stuck to the abrasive style. There is a lot of crunchy six-string work, including some cool harmony parts, as well as solid soloing. The acoustic guitar work on “Empty Pleasures” is beautiful. I dug the instrumental breaks and tempo changes. Several songs have a strong chug/groove factor too. It’s worth throwing some bucks the band’s way to get a copy. Angel Rust is Andrew D’Cagna (vocals, guitars), Frank Gordon (bass, keys, vocals), Aaron Carey (guitars), and Bob Griffin (percussion). www.AngelRust.com

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Short Description- Metal
Darren's Review- This album has alot to offer. Aggressive & flowing guitars, clean and growling vocals make for an great combo. Melodies are layered nicely to combine for a unique atmosphere. Production is decent as well. The band is talented in throwing enough together to make it work, with elements to stand out from the rest. Check out www.angelrust.com for more.

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Arcane : Straightforward, somewhat progressive metal with vocals that sometimes resemble Sammy Duet's (Crowbar/Goatwhore) screeches, and other times soothing clean melodies, yet staying heavy. They do a pretty decent of Accept's "Metal Heart" as well!