Shortly before Seattle became a synonym for grunge, one of the best bands of American power metal had come out of the same city. Fifth Angel formed in late 1983, when singer Ted Pilot and rhythm guitarist Ed Archer joined forces with guitarist James Byrd and drummer Ken Mary.
“`With that line-up they recorded a four-song demo at Steve Lawson Productions, with Terry Date producing — the man who later put his name on the sound of Pantera, Soundgarden and Deftones. Because they had no bass player, Archer played the bass himself. The demo reached Shrapnel Records in 1985 and led to a contract: the self-titled album came out on 15 September 1986 in America and the same year in Europe through Roadrunner.
The story of the record has one strange detail as well. Randy Hansen, at the time known for his Jimi Hendrix tributes, played the bass, but the credits listed Kenny Kay, who did not play a single note — he was there only for the photos. When the band signed to Epic in 1988, the reissue «corrected» the credits with John Macko, the bassist who had already been hired for the live shows.
Soon after, James Byrd left for a solo career and Kendall Bechtel took his place. The second album, «Time Will Tell» (23 August 1989), was recorded in expensive East Coast studios with Rush’s Terry Brown producing, and the label pushed it towards a more commercial, melodic hard rock. Despite the promotion and the video clip, the band played not one single show for that record; a few months later grunge swept everything away and Epic lost interest. The group broke up in 1990.
Ken Mary carried on as a session drummer, while Ted Pilot left music for dentistry and today is an endodontist in Seattle — which is why he did not come back for the reunion either. In 2009 Archer, Macko and Bechtel found each other again, and in 2010 they headlined Keep It True in Germany with Peter Orullian on vocals, after Tim Branom’s health problem. The reception led to a deal with Nuclear Blast: «The Third Secret» in 2018, with Bechtel also on vocals, and the concept «When Angels Kill» in 2023, with a story set in a future run by a tyrant.
In 2024 they headlined Storm Crusher and this year, 40 years after the debut, they came back to the big stages — among them three Greek shows, on 30 October in Thessaloniki, on 31 October in Larissa and on 1 November in Athens. The anniversary tour plays the whole first album, along with songs from the rest. Anyone who wants to see what else is on next month will find it gathered in the list of November 2026 concerts in Athens, Thessaloniki and the rest of Greece, while the story of Helloween’s Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II sketches the power metal context of their era.
Listen to them
From their catalogue, «When Angels Kill» plays in full here:
Source: https://rockaddiction.gr/a-tribute-to-fifth-angel-1983-2026/
