''We Have Arrived'' is the debut studio album by American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

band Dark Angel, released in March 1985. It is the only Dark Angel album to feature Jack Schwartz on drums, as

Gene Hoglan Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...

replaced him as their drummer on subsequent albums.

Overview

''We Have Arrived'' has been reissued at least two times. In 1986, it was re-released by the French recording label Axe Killer in a 2,000 number limited edition. It was then re-released once again in 1997 by Axe Killer. The label attached to the plastic wrap says that this is a remastered edition, but there is no indication of it in the booklet. As of 2023, ''We Have Arrived'' is the only studio album in Dark Angel's discography that has yet to be available on digital streaming services. One of the songs from this album, "Merciless Death", was re-recorded for their next album ''

Darkness Descends ''Darkness Descends'' is the second studio album by the American thrash metal band Dark Angel, released on November 17, 1986. Released at the height of thrash metal's popularity, ''Darkness Descends'' received positive reviews from music critics, ...

''. The album's sound has been described as "amateurish" and its tracks as "uncultivated noise fests" lacking "technical discipline".

Reception and legacy

The album was met with mixed reactions. Reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album a 1.5 of 5 saying "Dark Angel's arrogantly titled debut ''We Have Arrived'' is as primitive as it gets" and that it "will only interest serious thrash enthusiasts." Canadian journalist

Martin Popoff Martin Popoff (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian music journalist, critic and author. He is mainly known for writing about heavy metal music. The senior editor and co-founder of '' Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles'', he has written over twenty books ...

compared the music on the album to the German thrash school and to early

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

-style; he found sonic affinity with

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, but "loud, fast and crude in comparison". Dark Angel drummer

has discredited the album, namely Don Doty's vocal performance. He said, "To be honest, I felt that the vocals on ''We Have Arrived'' were horrible — just bland and boring and it sounded like Don was singing through his nose. So I had no problem not having that voice in the band anymore fter Doty had left and it gave us a shot to get somebody powerful."

Track listing

Personnel

;Dark Angel *Don Doty – vocals * Eric Meyer – guitars *Jim Durkin – guitars *Rob Yahn – bass *Jack Schwartz – drums ;Production *

Bill Metoyer Bill Metoyer is an American record producer who has recorded with Slayer, Deliverance, Hirax, Morbid Angel, Trouble and Tourniquet. He has worked at Metal Blade Records for several years as house producer and currently works as A&R. He also w ...

– engineer *Vadim Rubin, Mike Siegal – executive producers

References

{{Authority control Dark Angel (band) albums 1985 debut albums