Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly

January 23, 2008

Marah / Angels of Destruction

Yep Rock

Angels Of Destruction, the Angel of

Redemption's got you beat, proclaims

Dave Bielanko on the title track of

Marah's latest album. And those aren't

the only angels to be found here. There

are Angels of Mercy, Angels on a

Passing Train and angels that will rip

your chest open and fill it with flowers.

As you might imagine, the presence

of this chorus of angels indicates that

there are some weighty topics at hand

here. Sure enough, the band addresses

themes of religion, redemption,

destruction and the struggle for sobriety

in a world awash in blood and whiskey.

The album's best songs include the

tender relationship drama Angels On

A Passing Train, the harrowing recovery

anthem Old Time Tickin' Away and a

reminder that the joys in life lie in the

simple things on the album's title track.

This is Marah's most mature work to

date (though they would probably hate

the use of that word), and the band's

first stable lineup after years of changing

casts is no small factor in that growth.

If you are a Marah fan, sometimes it

feels like you're screaming from a

mountaintop and no one is listening.

I've grown tired of predicting that each

successive album will be their

breakthrough. So I'll make it simple: get

this album, because when you see it at

the top of the list of 2008's best albums,

you will wish that you had.

In A Word: Redeemed

Grade: A

—by Ken Shane