Kev Rowland
For those unaware of their history, Death Angel were formed back in 1982 in San Francisco, and at one time every member of the band was a blood relative. Lead guitarist Rob Cavestany is the only person still there, and when he formed the band, he was only 14! Lead singer Mark Osegueda didn’t join until a few years later, but the two of them have appeared on every Death Angel release. They will probably always be best remembered for their 1987 debut ‘The Ultra-Violence’ and their third album, ‘Act III’, but Death Angel are one of those bands who don’t know what it is like to release a bad album. Apparently, they are seen as an influence by Metallica, shame we can’t say the same for those guys.
Second guitarist Ted Anguilar joined when the band reformed in 2001, while the rhythm section of Damien Sisson (bass), Will Carroll (drums) both joined in 2009, so by the time of this 2016 album they already had plenty of road miles plus some albums behind them. Guys, the word for the day is “thrash”, which has been associated with these guys throughout their whole career and they see no reason at all to change tack now. In 2018 I was fortunate enough to see these guys support Sepultura, and for me they were the band of the night. Old favourites were aired alongside numbers from this album such as opener “The Moth”, and they certainly stood up well among the likes of “Thrashers”. They know how to slow it down, such as on “Father of Lies” where there is a delicate and restrained bridge and guitar solo, but this is all about thrash metal and putting the hammer down, and when they do there are few who can touch them.
They may not have reached the heights of bands they inspired, but they have stayed true to the faith and this is yet another great example of Death Angel showing everyone they are still here and are refusing to go away, and if they want to use acoustic guitar to provide an emphasis they will!