| Death Angel |
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| thrash metal musical groups | |
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Death Angel is an American-Filipino Thrash Metal band from Concord , California . Formed in 1982 , they helped define the Bay Area Thrash sound with their debut album '' The Ultra-Violence ''. Death Angel broke up in 1991 , but reformed at the '' Thrash Of The Titans '' benefit concert for Chuck Billy in 2001. HISTORY Early Days (1982-1986) Death Angel was formed in Concord, California, in 1982 by Rob Cavestany (lead guitar), Gus Pepa (rhythm guitar) and Dennis Pepa (bass, vocals), and Andy Galeon (drums), who are all cousins. After considering a number of different names for the band, including "Dark Fury," Cavestany and D. Pepa settled on the name "Death Angel" after coming across a book by that title in a book store. [http://www.voicesfromthedarkside.de/interviews/deathangel.htm] In in November of that year (at one of the four Megadeth gigs to feature Kerry King on guitar). [http://www.darkside.ru/interviews/deathangel-eng.html] Death Angel continued to play club gigs in and around the San Francisco Bay area for nearly 2 years, writing songs and refining their stage show. In 1986 , the band recorded the '' Kill As One '' demo with Metallica's Kirk Hammett (whom they had met at a record store signing in 1983 ) as producer. Due to the underground Tape Trading wave of the early 1980s, the demo was distributed extensively and brought the band to the attention of a still-wider audience; Osegueda later recalled that prior to the release of the band's first album, "we were playing in L.A. and New York , and the crowd was singing our songs, because there was this underground tape trading....That's what keeps it alive, and I think that's absolutely wonderful." {Link without Title} The Enigma Years (1987-1988) The success of '', selling out 2 full Japanese tours. The Geffen Years (1989-1990) Geffen Records bought out the contract from Enigma Records and signed Death Angel in 1989 and released their third album, '' Act III '', in 1990 . Produced by Max Norman (who had previously worked with Ozzy Osbourne and Megadeth ), the album showcased the band's newfound use of full-band backing vocals, while fusing elements of funk, thrash, and heavy metal with the use of acoustic guitars to give the album a varied feel, while staying true to the group's heavy roots. The album featured the singles "Seemingly Endless Time" and "A Room with a View" (a ballad sung mostly by guitarist Rob Cavestany), and both songs also received airplay on '' Headbanger's Ball '', but a mainstream breakthrough still proved elusive. (The band released the "A Room with a View" video and single under the name "D.A.," and Cavestany explained to a reporter at the time that he now found the band's original name "restricting....The name Death Angel seems to imply hardcore thrash gloom-and-doom death metal, and we're not like that at all. If I were presented with 10 records, and one of them was by a band called Death Angel, and I'd never heard of them, I'd stick that one on the bottom!" {Link without Title} Death Angel had embarked on what was scheduled to be a worldwide tour in support of '' Act III '' in 1990, they have started the European leg and was selling out shows at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, The Ritz in New York , and England 's Hammersmith Odeon . The band was also slated to be the opening act for the "Clash of the Titans" tour featuring Megadeth , Slayer , and Anthrax later in the year but was filled in with Alice in Chains since Death Angel was unable to perform. Death Angel was to record a live show for their second album release with Geffen once they have returned to the bay area as well and hit different countries previously unchartered. Also in 1990 , Enigma Records illegally released and distributed after getting paid from Geffen and Death Angel, '' Fall From Grace '', a unauthorized bootleg live album featuring songs from their first two releases from a live show performed at the Paradisio, Amsterdam, Holland. The album was released without any input from the band members with its songs contents, credits, concepts, artwork, or anything at all. They did not even learn of its existence until they stumbled upon it in a record store in Tucson , Arizona on the night prior to the near fatal accident. Evidently Enigma Records folded after the release, cashing in on the sales and the album was also unknowingly picked up, manufactured and illegally distributed by Capitol Records. This is still an unfinished issue, it seems since there is no contract with this label whatsoever. But while on the road from a concert show in Arizona, going to Las Vegas, Nevada, the vehicle that the group was traveling in crashed, and drummer Andy Galeon was critically injured, needing more than a year to fully recover. Cavestany said at the time that " a way, it made perfect sense to have a major accident right now, it really fit the story line. We've been pushing so hard for 8 years and just not getting that far, and getting so frustrated with not being where we should be after so long, it was time for something climactic to happen!" [http://skepticfiles.org/en003/dethangl.htm Following the accident, both Geffen Records and the band's manager pressured the group to hire another drummer and immediately go back to work. The band decided on doing a few shows in Japan with a different drummer but the chemistry was not there. When the band members declined to get a long term replacement and go on the road, they were dropped from the record label. At this point, Osegueda left the group and moved to New York to pursue a life outside of music, and Cavestany later explained that " weren't going to try to replace him and with all that stuff happening we were just totally disgusted at how things had turned out and we felt that this was a sign that the band was not going to go on." [http://web.textfiles.com/ezines/COC/coc074.txt Following the split the remaining members performed just a few shows in the Bay Area, appearing as "The Past," and playing acoustic-only sets. Hiatus (1991-2000) In the summer of 1991, with Galeon fully recovered, Death Angel's remaining members, without Mark, reformed with the band's name of The Organization (the title of a song on ''Act III''), with Cavestany taking over lead vocal duties. The band continued their exploration into new sounds, focusing less on traditional metal, and more on funk and alt rock. The Organization 's first demo was recorded and produced at City College of San Francisco's multitrack studios by Eric Kauschen and Dana Galloway . The Organization toured extensively throughout the US and Europe, including two appearances at the Netherlands 's Dynamo Open Air Festival , a support slot on Rob Halford 's "Fight" tour and as the main support act for Motörhead in Europe . Unfortunately, both 1993 's '' The Organization '' and 1995 's '' Savor The Flavor '' distributed by, ( Metal Blade Records ) failed to make waves with the record buying public, Rob Cavestany and Andy Galeon decided to call it quits. In 1998 , Rob Cavestany and Andy Galeon reunited with Mark Osegueda for the first time since 1990. Along with bassist Michael Isaiah, the trio formed Swarm and released the five-song '' Devour '' EP in 1999 , along with an additional four-track self-titled EP. Swarm toured with Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains in 2000 , and in 2002 released the compilation album '' Beyond The End '', which combined the contents of the band's two EPs with a cover of The Doors ' "My Eyes Have Seen You." Although Swarm did not become a commercial success, it did bring the core of the band back together, setting the wheels in motion for a Death Angel reunion. The return of Death Angel (2001-present) Death Angel officially reunited in August 2001 for '' Thrash Of The Titans '', a cancer benefit show for Testament frontman Chuck Billy . Unfortunately, original guitarist Gus Pepa couldn't participate in the reunion since he was out of the country, and Rob suggested getting a replacement, which Gus agreed to, and the remaining band members enlisted their longtime friend and fan, Ted Aguilar, to handle rhythm guitar duties. Originally planned as a one-off show, the band received such a positive response that the show led not only to a string of other well-received gigs around the San Francisco area, but also a pair of European tours -- despite the band not having issued an album in over a decade. In 2004 , 14 years after their last album, the band at last released '' The Art Of Dying '' on Nuclear Blast records. '' Archives And Artifacts '', a box set with remastered versions of the long out-of-print ''The Ultra-Violence'' and ''Frolic Through The Park'', along with a bonus ''Rarities'' CD and DVD, followed in 2005 . Mark Osegueda has since announced his involvement in the band All Time Highs , but has emphasized that he intends to remain a member of Death Angel. {Link without Title} According to a recent interview with bassist Dennis Pepa The Gauntlet , a new Death Angel album will be recorded in September/October 2007 and released in early Spring 2008 Rob Cavestany and Gus Pepa has actually collaborated on some acoustic recordings and may release an independent recording sometime in the near future, as well. They are now having a reunion show in the north. DISCOGRAPHY CURRENT MEMBERS
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