Fifth Angel making their debut on Dutch soil after 40 years. Well that was one I was not going to miss. Not a band from my teens as Fifth Angel was released when I was 20, still many spins it had and Hans and Magchiel also loved going back to 1986 as the debut album was going to be played in full. Even better to find out that on this Tuesday night Sounddog sold out. So before I start hyping the show, first a heads-up to Sounddog and Mario. This wa sonly the third time I came to Sounddog and in March I learned that the nice stage was put together only recently. So from a venue in progress to selling out on a Tuesday night, they must be doing something right. Well the setup of the venue and the atmosphere do help. I only did not go more often, as many times this year the same package playing Sounddog also played my hometown venue Musicon. Actually Musicon had tonight also an interesting show with Costa Rica's Chemicide giving us thrash metal with support of Dutch rising thrash stars Velozza. But hey Fifth Angel playing, so that was no hard choice really.
We arrived just in time, so taking of our needed warm coats and ordering a beer the night could start with Leatherwitch. I don't have their 2026 debut album First Spell, but I heard some songs of Crystal Viper before. This because the voice of both Polish bands is Marta Gabriel. She has a strong voice and sings the way I like female vocalists to sing, so no operatic nonsense. The band was strong too, but after a while all the new songs started sounding a bit similar to me. In a response to that risk they finished with Black Wind, Fire and Steel so an appreciative hall shouted along for a first time tonight.
Before I get into the show of Fifth Angel, let me set my ballpark with the band a bit. In the mid eighties it became clear that the wave of US metal bands coming over us, were the new best thing in music. I did like the upcoming thrash and melodic hard rock of the time too, but looking at it now this was the best wave ever really. Bands like Queensryche, Metal Church, Fates Warning, Q5, Warlord, Flotsam & Jetsam, Vicious Rumors, Heir Apparent, Crimson Glory, Culprit, Liege Lord and so many others all blew us away with their debut albums. So when Fifth Angel announced coming to The Netherlands for a first time, but also celebrating 40 years of their debut album I knew this was one to look out for. Over the past decade I saw some of these bands for a first time and nostalgia wise, nothing beats a first time. Many in tonight however, saw the band before at old skool metal festivals like KIT where they played three times. I did come close to seeing them at Pyrenean Warrior Open Air in 2024. That was until the band had to cancel due to poor logistical planning, my Airbnb cancelled my reservation and Warlord came to Breda as well, so I skipped France alltogether.
So ready now, bring on some Fifth Angel and I shall shout it Out in The Night.
Not every band can open with their best song and can get away with it. For me among many great songs In the Fallout is probably my favourite. So it catapulted me to great heights from teh start and also the band immediately showed their class. Playing an album in full means we get no surprises for a while, but when it is played this nice I did get some goosebumps along the way. Many of the Fifth Angel songs have chorusses which are inviting you to shout along and so I did. A very nice start Fading into Flames. After that Ethan Brosh got the stage for himself showing he is a great guitarist indeed. For the second part the band returned and we stayed mainly at the Time Will Tell album. Fifth Angel had something with opening tracks as Cathedral is another absolute banger of an opener. With one song of the Third Secret and none of When Angels Kill the recent history was basically ignored. No issue for me as this evening was all about nostalgia and losing my voice along the way. So when the encore Lights Out faded away I knew I just witnessed one show I shall remember for a long time. Only downside of the evening was that the tour Tee sold out already and Dutch trains delaying, but that is the norm after shows.
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