Recorded live in San Francisco as part of a "Thrashumentary" package, "The Bay Calls for Blood" is a showcase of the band's career which spans almost 30 years, picking tracks from the earliest releases, as well as the most recent album, "This Dream Calls for Blood".

Heavily rooted in the earliest days of Thrash Metal's golden era and the speed, aggression and passion that was critical to the Bay Area scene, DEATH ANGEL are among the forerunners of most people's lists to expand the so-called "Big 4".

Released as a celebration of their career, "The Bay Calls for Blood" opens with the tight, fast riffage of "Left for Dead"; another track from their latest album; which really exemplifies the all-out thrash assault that the band pedals.

As a band with such a long history, it is hard to critique any one track individually, as they have picked a killer set from their distinguished back catalogue. Every song on the album is fast and energetic, with very few moments where the speed drops to anything even resembling a mid-tempo.

While the span of DEATH ANGEL's career is covered here, the focus is definitely on the group's two latest releases, 2013's "This Dream Calls for Blood", and the 2010 effort "Relentless Retribution".

Other than a few memorable choruses and shouted call and response moments ("Bored"), the majority of this live album does have a fairly repetitive feel, with little in the way of variety in the way the songs are written, and the riffs feel like fairly generic thrash moments.

As an album this is definitely an accompaniment to the "Thrashumentary" film in order to be placed within its proper context. That being said, "The Bay Calls for Blood" is a great album which shows that thrash metal is live and well, kicking asses the world over!<