Having only released a four song demo and a full length album called Inquiete in 1990, STEEL ANGEL never went any further due to some tragic losses in the bands Line Up with members Mark Daklallah and Jason Flanders succumbing to terrible car accidents. Remastered and released in memory of fallen friends, Arkeyn Steel Records have made available the full length in 2016 with a new album title "In a Quiet Dream" and with the four tracks from the demo ep. Judging by the songs on the album the Metal world was derived off a truly talented band, a fact made more than apparent by the 1^st song entitled "Valley of the Skulls", a thrashy and structurally progressive song with interesting breaks that remind me of a mix of Sanctuary and Queensryche. The song has a coherent flow even though the structure of the rhythm section is accentuated by interesting breaks while the vocals remind of a mix of King Diamond and Warrel Dane of Sanctuary fame and a mix of power and prog with a touch of bands like Steel Prophet or a less abrasive Anacrusis.

"Eye of the Storm" starts with a cool bass intro before drums set in and a guitar melody that has a slight oriental vibe to it, as mentioned previously there is something about this band that reminds me of Anacrusis and this song much more than the first song reiterates that feeling for me and like that band what I really like here is that there are many tempo changes and breaks in the songs that in the hands of lesser players could have descented into a mess of sounds. What Steel Angel manages though is to take those different parts and form them into a cohesive whole while still being able to sound melodic . There is some really impressive musicianship on display here and vocals that are better integrated into the overall flow of the rhythm section. The title track "Steel Angel" is the third song and begins slowly with an acoustic into and lyrics of longing and regret accompanied with well used strings before picking up into a steady but not slow guitar groove, there is a small guitar break before the song picks up with an awesome guitar solo and effective use of the drums giving it all a dramatic and layered feeling, I love it when bands are able to tell a story within a song structure that has a discernible beginning, middle and dramatic end without being over the top and this song pulls of this feat perfectly, the track ending by picking up pace in its final moments with faster guitars and double bass before seamlessly transitioning back into an acoustic outro that reminds the listener of the opening but that is still slightly different.

Fourth song "Dorian Grey" has a thrash feel to it and is another solid song, with some cool cymbal work and a driving rhythm and interesting drum breaks, it feels slightly disjointed at times in that the drum work does not really flow with the overall rhythm and the guitar solo that bursts in also seems a bit out of place. Like on the previous songs the playing here is impeccable, the overall song however, while still good does not stand out all that much making it a solid if not very memorable song. "You can run", starts off similarly to the title track with another acoustic intro before developing into a mid-paced song with some effectively used acoustic breaks, this song reminding me of Savatage because of its theatric structure and brief use of spoken word elements.

Out of the blue and totally unexpected 11^th and final song "What Child is this" leaves you flabbergasted with a spoken word intro of the band members speaking  before turning into a Medieval acoustic and a-cappella led song that is over just as quickly as it started. Why this oddity was included one may never know but it sure does make for a fitting closer to the album showing the band as being a humorous bunch that did not take themselves too seriously.