Originally released by Lifeforce Records in 1999, “Prayers Upon Deaf Ears” EP is one of the most important vegan metalcore / metallic hardcore releases of the 90s. Knives Out Records is honored to announce their partnership with ARKANGEL and a new limited deluxe picture disc vinyl version of this thrashin’ record! Check out a teaser flyer, grab your copy through this location and dive into the original version of this vicious offering below.
[UPDATE / January 5th] The prestige gold edition is limited to 100 (already sold out) / The deluxe wood edition is limited to 400 (still available).
“Prayers…” has established a brand new standard in the hardcore! Furious music backed up by devastating vocals, energy, extreme power of expression and uncompromising style. These are the marks for the new path built by Arkangel and used by a lot of bands affected with their unique style. For fans of Slayer, Day Of Suffering, Overcast. The cult, it is just a must-have in your collection! New amazing artwork, digipack, don’t miss it! / Interpunk
Lyrics:
1. Within The Walls of Babylon
Immersed in a sea of pain Chained to a lifetime agony Existence becomes a thorn stuck in the side of the innocents Born different, destined to suffer A throne usurped by man for a Kingdom plagued with tyranny Malicious, vile, merciless Modernity devours the children of earth disgraced Before humanity’s demented eyes Driven by sickness civilization indulges in suicidal madness Within the walls of Babylon, wickedness is rampant And snakes crawl under virgin skin I seek a moral elevation To salvage hopes of paradise No more cupidity but altruism to restore harmony Under a red sky of dying nature Laments of the dead praise revolution Tears of the victimized Flow into a sea of despair2. One Standard, One Ethic
In the mist of inferno, I seek salvation Filth cannot taint my allegiance for my heart Holds the truth My heart and my mind worship discipline and filter right from wrong Purification Sworn to justice to cast iniquities into the shadows of oblivion Untouched by the dirt of lust One standard, one ethic Redemption for all innocent life One standard, one ethic Reverance for the sentiment3. Built Upon The Graves
Emissaries of demise slit the defenseless In an act of barbarity Sharp knives give the final embrace In a pool of red Deathtools forged in the flames of scorn Non human animals die in the name of selfish ignorance Blood spilled for lust In temples of terror Factory farms Vivisection laboratories Fur ranches Slaughter houses All replace concentration camps still injustice remains End this evil empire built upon the graves of murdered And devoured creatures Salvation I whisper thy name and scream for liberation Consumption of lifeless bodies is a vote for genocide4. In The Embrace Of Truth
I am not tempted by your paradise of lies Never will I fester in the boels of decadence Committed to nobility for a higher destiny In the embrace of truth belongs my heart and soul I walk the path of righteousness My quest for justice is enlightened by the blazing sun of harmony I refuse to partake into man’s craving for lechery A desire fueled by the flames of greed in this world Mother Culture is a legacy of prejudices Against non human animals5. Day Of Apocalypse
I hear the trumpets of the apocalypse Announcing the end of man so please End this exploitation Thou shall not poison the earth Essence of all existence for with her We fall along into the abyss of avidity Sealing our fate with the kiss of death Defense of innocent life is my declaration Retribution, humanity harvests destruction As we have sown desolation Vision of apocalypse complete devestation Final judgement falls upon us as we rape the land When mother earth’s lifeforce depletes Action must be taken to free the world from its sickness Action for justice leads to freedom Scorched landscape burned to ashes Original state of balance forever lost Creation of nature is drowned into concrete Oblivion embraces paradise while helpless species die We Forge this world into an hell Industrial madness consumes gala Witness the demise of life under the siege of humanity Breathless mother, helpless she dies6. Evilization
Legions of demons advance in the shadow of mankind Infernal hordes of chaos wage war against earth Soldiers of doom pour venom on the land Final shreds of nature swing on the brink of abyss while non human life agonizes Anthropocentrism is tainted by the suffering of millions Admist inferno, I seek salvation to bring and end to your mindless destruction United we conquer a wind of protest blows to enlighten The blackness of ignorance when absolute evil forms I raise an avenging sword and strike the beast into its heart To preserve innocence, to protect the defenseless I am striving for an all encompassing golden age Where justice and compassion prevail In reaction to decadence emerges a shining order One that ensures freedom not enslavement Spoken Part: As tears fall from my eyes and roll over my cheek as a rain of sadness, I pray for the salvation of innocence but my mourning soul and bleedings heart know they are prayers upon deaf ears for I have witnessed so much disregard in the actions of our greed ridden civilization. After all the pain, after all the suffering non human animals have to endure., imprisoned in the factory farms, tortured in the vivisection laboratories and killed in the slaughterhouses, symbols of ignorance and cruelty, I hope that somewhere there is a place where they can finally rest in peace. But the sad and bitter truth is that no heaven awaits us, only an hell that man creates on earth, an hell that burns everything on its path, leaving ashes of desolation in its wake. Dominion over nature ensures our demise for we destroy the unique life support systems we’ll ever have, this beautiful planet which brought us into the sunlight. Love, compassion and justice are not just beautiful words, they are a weapon against the greed and selfishness of the society we live in. Love, compassion and justice are a weapon for revolution in the mind and in the soul of every man and every woman, a revolution for the coming of harmony. Veganism is compassion, is justice, is a tool for love and caring to prevail on this earth. The only true happiness is the one we all share in total freedom.
ARKANGEL has been going 18 years strong and as one of the first bands to emerge in the European metal core scene and one of the main band’s to influence a generation, they return triumphantly with their debut album for GSR Music, namely ARKANGEL is your Enemy, which is a modern day classic that revisits the mid to late 90’s metal core genre and adds a modern day twist to bring you something fresh and vibrant that rages from start to finish with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball.
The vocals from Baldur are vicious and relentless and have always been one of the strongest points ofARKANGEL and remain that way on ARKANGEL is your Enemy. Matching the vocal intensity stride for stride, the music crushes you with every riffs and every pounding double bass parts, proving thatARKANGEL can give any band a run for their money in terms of bludgeoning power and that’s just whatARKANGEL is your Enemy offers the listener. It’s not a pretty album with catchy hooks, it’s merciless all the way through and is written for the stage, written for maximum violence on the dance floor.
There are no moments of weakness, no moments for you to relax and take a breath, it’s just one punishing aural assault after another until the final seconds.
With a rich history that has seen ARKANGEL perform all over the World including the States, Canada and Japan as well as numerous countries all over Europe, with ARKANGEL is your Enemy will see ARKANGELretread old stamping grounds and visit new places where audiences will be devastated by their crushing live shows.
ARKANGEL will definitely be your enemy. / Knives Out Records1998/1999: ARKANGEL “Prayers Upon Deaf Ears” – MCD, Vinyl | RPP records (Be), Lifeforce Records (Ge)
1999 : ARKANGEL “Dead Man Walking” – CD | GoodLife Records (Be)
2004 : ARKANGEL “Hope YOu Die By Overdose” – CD | Private Hell Records (Be)
2004 : ARKANGEL “Arkangel Is Your Enemy” – CD | GSR Records (Nl)
2015: ARKANGEL “Prayers Upon Deaf Ears” – Picture disc vinyl 10″ | Knives Out Records (F)
This rerelease starts a series of reviews we will do for Lifeline Records from Poland over the next weeks, celebrating the awesome work these dudes do over there. In the late 90ies, Arkangel where among the leaders of European metalcore, their debut EP which is now reissued in a luxury digipack hit us all like a bomb, as it was fresh and new and in a way so well desperate and negative. Veganism and straight edge were their main topics, and the sound was warning of the coming apocalypse. Back then, this sound was really fresh and revolutionary, creating one of the biggest buzzes the Benelux scene ever had. After that, a good full length was released on Good Life, and then the slow decline of this band began, with line-up changes, rumoured vegan and sxe drop outs, bad live shows, rumours about the personalities behind this band and more. Leaving this aside and just judging these tunes on here, this should be forgotten, and a rerelease of these songs was overdue.
After one of the best intros that ever were lend for a metalcore record, and which still gives me shivers, all the fury ignites with an even physical metalcore track that impressively shows WHY this band was so huge back then. Compared to todays metalcore, this still has obvous roots in hardcore but twisted metalleads and mosh has it’s place. The vocals are still frightening, it is a pure and pissed screaming vocalist that simply owns. Balancing between faster passages and devestating mosh, this stands in a row with Day of Suffering, who had a similar impact back in the days at a similar time. Lyrically, this is quite outspoken yet well written, dealing with veganism and the demise of the world as it is today. The guitars lend constant melodic metal leads, making the songs even catchy in a way. Often, the songs have a climax in which everything comes down, just listen to „day of apocalypse“ to find those moments.
Soundwise, this release was always quite well produced and if I hear it correct was not redone on that field. seems a bit more polished than before. The artwork has already been great, and with this new digipack look and a new booklet, it looks even better than before. Overall, this record definitely stood the test of time, being an awesome and almost genre-defining effort that you just should own. / PoisonFree
