Dark Angel (band)
Encyclopedia
Dark Angel was an American
thrash metal
band from Los Angeles
, California
. Their over-the-top style (extremely fast, heavy and lengthy songs with lots of tempo changes, lyrics and extended instrumental parts) earned them the nickname "the L.A. Caffeine Machine".
After releasing four full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Dark Angel disbanded in 1992.
They decided to reform ten years later, however, Ron Rinehart
's vocal issues after an accident forced them to cancel plans to tour further. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since then.
, right around the time when the Bay Area thrash movement was beginning to take place. They played in local bars and clubs, acquiring a cult following in the metal underground. The band began recording and releasing several demos until 1985, when they released their debut studio album We Have Arrived
.
, which is widely considered to be their seminal release. Around the same, several other thrash metal bands such as Metallica
also released seminal albums and started to gain more popularity.
At this time, Megadeth
frontman Dave Mustaine
asked Eric Meyer
to join Megadeth, but he declined in order to stay with Dark Angel. According to an interview done by Voices from the Dark Side, Eric Meyer claims he did not feel comfortable with the
situation.
Following the release, three more efforts would follow: Leave Scars
in 1989, a live album, Live Scars in 1990, an apparent pun
of their previous album, and what would eventually become the band's final album, Time Does Not Heal
, in 1991. Time Does Not Heal shows increasingly progressive
song structures (famously advertising its "246 riff
s") and Hoglan's lyrics dealing with psychological issues and trauma.
In 1992, despite working on a fifth album, Dark Angel announced they were breaking up to pursue individual careers.
Chuck Schuldiner
was taking that group into a more progressive style. Subsequently, he recorded one album
with the thrash metal band Testament
, and made the acquaintance of Canadian
multi-instrumentalist Devin Townsend
, forging a lasting friendship. He has since recorded several albums with Townsend, both as part of the speed
/industrial
/death metal
band Strapping Young Lad
and under Devin Townsend's name.
Rinehart formed the band Oil
in 1997 after converting
to Christianity
.
on vocals, Eric Meyer
on guitarist, Danyael Williams on bass and Gene Hoglan
on drums.
During the reunion, Dark Angel performed the Metallica
song "Creeping Death
" which appeared on the 2004 Metallica tribute album Metallic Attack: Metallica - The Ultimate Tribute
.
By 2005, Rinehart had begun suffering health problems. According to Danyael Williams, Rinehart didn't recover from his injury and was forced to retire from music because the doctors told him he shouldn't sing again if he wanted to walk, thus ending Dark Angel's reunion.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Their over-the-top style (extremely fast, heavy and lengthy songs with lots of tempo changes, lyrics and extended instrumental parts) earned them the nickname "the L.A. Caffeine Machine".
After releasing four full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Dark Angel disbanded in 1992.
They decided to reform ten years later, however, Ron Rinehart
Ron Rinehart
Ron Rinehart is an American thrash metal vocalist. He was the lead singer for the American thrash metal band Dark Angel from 1988 after the departure of previous vocalist Don Doty until the band's dissolution in 1992....
's vocal issues after an accident forced them to cancel plans to tour further. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since then.
Early years (1983–1985)
Dark Angel formed in 1983 in Downey, CaliforniaDowney, California
Downey is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city is best known as the birthplace of the Apollo space program, and is the city where folk singer Karen Carpenter lived and died...
, right around the time when the Bay Area thrash movement was beginning to take place. They played in local bars and clubs, acquiring a cult following in the metal underground. The band began recording and releasing several demos until 1985, when they released their debut studio album We Have Arrived
We Have Arrived (album)
-Personnel:Dark Angel*Don Doty - Vocals*Eric Meyer - Lead guitars*Jim Durkin - Guitars*Rob Yahn - Bass*Jack Schwartz - DrumsProduction*Vadim Rubin - Executive producer*Mike Siegal - Executive producer*Bill Metoyer - Engineer...
.
Critical acclaim and break up (1986–1992)
In 1986, Dark Angel released their second studio album, Darkness DescendsDarkness Descends
Darkness Descends is the second studio album by the American thrash metal band Dark Angel. The album is the first to feature drummer Gene Hoglan. Rob Yahn was replaced with Mike Gonzalez by the time this album was released, however, Gonzalez was given credit over Yahn on the album sleeve...
, which is widely considered to be their seminal release. Around the same, several other thrash metal bands such as Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
also released seminal albums and started to gain more popularity.
At this time, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
frontman Dave Mustaine
Dave Mustaine
David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...
asked Eric Meyer
Eric Meyer (musician)
Eric Meyer was the long time lead guitarist for the Los Angeles based thrash metal band Dark Angel. He joined the band in 1984 and played on all of their recorded albums from We Have Arrived onwards....
to join Megadeth, but he declined in order to stay with Dark Angel. According to an interview done by Voices from the Dark Side, Eric Meyer claims he did not feel comfortable with the
situation.
Following the release, three more efforts would follow: Leave Scars
Leave Scars
Leave Scars is the third studio album released by the American thrash metal band, Dark Angel.-Track listing:-Credits:*Ron Rinehart - Vocals*Eric Meyer - Rhythm and lead guitar, Backing vocals...
in 1989, a live album, Live Scars in 1990, an apparent pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
of their previous album, and what would eventually become the band's final album, Time Does Not Heal
Time Does Not Heal
Time Does Not Heal is the fourth and final album by Dark Angel, which was released in 1991. When released it had a sticker reading "9 songs, 67 minutes, 246 riffs!".-Track listing:-Credits:*Ron Rinehart - Vocals*Eric Meyer - Guitars...
, in 1991. Time Does Not Heal shows increasingly progressive
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
song structures (famously advertising its "246 riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s") and Hoglan's lyrics dealing with psychological issues and trauma.
In 1992, despite working on a fifth album, Dark Angel announced they were breaking up to pursue individual careers.
Post-break up (1993–2001)
Since 1993, Hoglan had been collaborating on a number of musical projects. He achieved greater attention during the mid-1990s playing with Death, at the same time that bandleaderBandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
Chuck Schuldiner
Chuck Schuldiner
Charles Michael "Chuck" Schuldiner was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.Schuldiner was the singer, songwriter, and guitarist of the band Death, which he founded in 1983, initially under the name Mantas. He also recorded as guitarist and songwriter with his other band, Control Denied...
was taking that group into a more progressive style. Subsequently, he recorded one album
Demonic (album)
Demonic is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Testament. It was released in 1997. The lyrics deal with occult themes akin to their 1980s efforts, instead of the political topics covered on more recent releases....
with the thrash metal band Testament
Testament (band)
Testament is an American metal band from Berkeley, California, formed in 1983. They are often credited as one of the most popular bands of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
, and made the acquaintance of Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
multi-instrumentalist Devin Townsend
Devin Townsend
Devin Garret Townsend is a Canadian musician and record producer. He was the founder, songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist in extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad from 1994 to 2007 and has had an extensive career as a solo artist....
, forging a lasting friendship. He has since recorded several albums with Townsend, both as part of the speed
Speed metal
Speed metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from NWOBHM and hardcore punk roots. It is described by Allmusic as "extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding" music....
/industrial
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
/death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing...
and under Devin Townsend's name.
Rinehart formed the band Oil
Oil (band)
Oil is a Christian thrash metal band from Long Beach, California. The band was fronted by Ron Rinehart, ex-vocalist for Dark Angel, who converted to Christianity at a Harvest Crusade. Other members include lead guitarist Blake Nelson and drummer Jason Vander Pal...
in 1997 after converting
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
Brief reunion and second hiatus (2002–2005)
After a 10 year hiatus, Dark Angel reformed in 2002 with a new lineup featuring Ron RinehartRon Rinehart
Ron Rinehart is an American thrash metal vocalist. He was the lead singer for the American thrash metal band Dark Angel from 1988 after the departure of previous vocalist Don Doty until the band's dissolution in 1992....
on vocals, Eric Meyer
Eric Meyer (musician)
Eric Meyer was the long time lead guitarist for the Los Angeles based thrash metal band Dark Angel. He joined the band in 1984 and played on all of their recorded albums from We Have Arrived onwards....
on guitarist, Danyael Williams on bass and Gene Hoglan
Gene Hoglan
Eugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...
on drums.
During the reunion, Dark Angel performed the Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
song "Creeping Death
Creeping Death
-Covers:* New Jersey Hardcore band Shattered Realm includes a cover of "Creeping Death" on the reissue of their 2002 album "Broken Ties Spoken Lies"* Plays Metallica by Four Cellos by Apocalyptica.* During Ozzfest 2002 by Drowning Pool....
" which appeared on the 2004 Metallica tribute album Metallic Attack: Metallica - The Ultimate Tribute
Metallic Attack: Metallica - The Ultimate Tribute
Metallic Attack: The Ultimate Tribute is a tribute album to thrash metal band Metallica. Motörhead's cover of "Whiplash" from this album won a Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" in 2005. The album contains covers of songs from Metallica's first 5 studio albums.-Track listing:...
.
By 2005, Rinehart had begun suffering health problems. According to Danyael Williams, Rinehart didn't recover from his injury and was forced to retire from music because the doctors told him he shouldn't sing again if he wanted to walk, thus ending Dark Angel's reunion.
Last known line-up
- Ron RinehartRon RinehartRon Rinehart is an American thrash metal vocalist. He was the lead singer for the American thrash metal band Dark Angel from 1988 after the departure of previous vocalist Don Doty until the band's dissolution in 1992....
- Vocals (1987–1992, 2002–2005) - Eric MeyerEric Meyer (musician)Eric Meyer was the long time lead guitarist for the Los Angeles based thrash metal band Dark Angel. He joined the band in 1984 and played on all of their recorded albums from We Have Arrived onwards....
- Guitars (1984–1992, 2002–2005) - Danyael Williams - Bass (2002–2005)
- Gene HoglanGene HoglanEugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...
- Drums (1984–1992, 2002–2005)
Former members
- Vocals
- Don Doty (1981–1987)
- Jim Drabos (1987) Former vocalist for Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
Thrash Metal band Deathforce. Now is a police officer in Southern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
- Guitar
- Jim Durkin (1981–1989, 2002)
- Brett EriksenBrett EriksenBrett Eriksen was a guitarist who played for two Los Angeles thrash metal bands in the 80's, Viking and Dark Angel .-Viking era:...
(1989–1991) - Cris McCarthy (1991–1992)
- Bass
- Rob Yahn (1981–1986)
- Mike Gonzalez (1986–1992)
- Drums
- Mike Andrade (1981–1983)
- Jack Schwartz (1983–1984)
- Lee Rausch (1984)
- Justin Mann (1985)
Studio albums
- We Have ArrivedWe Have Arrived (album)-Personnel:Dark Angel*Don Doty - Vocals*Eric Meyer - Lead guitars*Jim Durkin - Guitars*Rob Yahn - Bass*Jack Schwartz - DrumsProduction*Vadim Rubin - Executive producer*Mike Siegal - Executive producer*Bill Metoyer - Engineer...
(1985) - Darkness DescendsDarkness DescendsDarkness Descends is the second studio album by the American thrash metal band Dark Angel. The album is the first to feature drummer Gene Hoglan. Rob Yahn was replaced with Mike Gonzalez by the time this album was released, however, Gonzalez was given credit over Yahn on the album sleeve...
(1986) - Leave ScarsLeave ScarsLeave Scars is the third studio album released by the American thrash metal band, Dark Angel.-Track listing:-Credits:*Ron Rinehart - Vocals*Eric Meyer - Rhythm and lead guitar, Backing vocals...
(1989) - Time Does Not HealTime Does Not HealTime Does Not Heal is the fourth and final album by Dark Angel, which was released in 1991. When released it had a sticker reading "9 songs, 67 minutes, 246 riffs!".-Track listing:-Credits:*Ron Rinehart - Vocals*Eric Meyer - Guitars...
(1991)
Demos
- Gonna Burn Weed (1983)
- Demo II (1983)
- Live Demo (1984)
- Live Demo From Berkeley (1985)
- Atrocity Exhibition (1992)
Other appearances
- Metallic Attack: Metallica - The Ultimate TributeMetallic Attack: Metallica - The Ultimate TributeMetallic Attack: The Ultimate Tribute is a tribute album to thrash metal band Metallica. Motörhead's cover of "Whiplash" from this album won a Grammy for "Best Metal Performance" in 2005. The album contains covers of songs from Metallica's first 5 studio albums.-Track listing:...
(Creeping DeathCreeping Death-Covers:* New Jersey Hardcore band Shattered Realm includes a cover of "Creeping Death" on the reissue of their 2002 album "Broken Ties Spoken Lies"* Plays Metallica by Four Cellos by Apocalyptica.* During Ozzfest 2002 by Drowning Pool....
) (2004)