DARK ANGEL drummer Gene Hoglan spoke to the “Everblack” podcast concerning the band’s upcoming album, “Extinction Degree Occasion”. DARK ANGEL‘s first new LP in 34 years is because of be launched later in 2025 by way of Reversed Data. Gene stated (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It is a fairly ferocious document. I am stoked with it. It took lengthy sufficient for it to return out, however now that we’re getting nearer to the discharge, issues are beginning to get nearer to finalized with it. So, everyone hold your eyes open. We simply launched the album cowl final week and when we’ve got some precise, precise, like ‘right here is the drop date for it’, we’ll have the ability to share that with everyone. Take note of the DARK ANGEL socials and all that, and there will likely be a launch date. We’re teasing it as 2025, so, hey, earlier than December thirty first, we’re getting a DARK ANGEL document.”
DARK ANGEL will launch the “Extinction Degree Occasion” title monitor on Friday, April 11. The quilt art work for the LP may be seen under. Additionally accessible is a brief teaser for the trouble.
Fan-filmed video of DARK ANGEL performing two new songs, “Extinction Degree Occasion” and “Round Firing Squad”, on March 23 on the Steel Beer Open Air pageant at Hipódromo Chile in Santiago, Chile may be seen under.
Final month, Hoglan was requested by Chile’s PowerOfMetal.cl concerning the progress of the songwriting classes for the band’s long-awaited new album. He stated: “ Properly, we’re going to be debuting a few new songs, some new materials, at these upcoming couple of South American exhibits that we’ve got. I do know we’re enjoying Buenos Aires [on March 21], and that is two nights earlier than the Steel Beer [Open Air] fest. So, at each of these exhibits we’re debuting some new materials, and we’re actually excited to have the ability to play some new stuff in any case this time. And hey, man, hopefully that is gonna result in an entire bunch extra stuff. And we’re very excited to be unleashing some new materials on the steel world.”
Relating to the potential of a brand new DARK ANGEL album being launched this yr, Gene stated: “Boy, you by no means know. We’re working and attempting to make issues occur. And so hopefully in some unspecified time in the future — I’ve stated this many instances prior to now — hopefully in some unspecified time in the future we’ll have the ability to give some form of thrilling replace on progress of something. And so hopefully we’ll have the ability to do this someplace within the close to future. And everyone, hold your eyes peeled to DARK ANGEL. We’ll see what occurs.”
DARK ANGEL was initially scheduled to play new music for the primary time since 1991 throughout its January 29 live performance on the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California. Nonetheless, that present ended up getting postponed as a result of wildfires within the state.
In July 2024, DARK ANGEL formally entered the studio to start recording its new LP. Two months earlier, Hoglan instructed Rocking With Jam Man that he had “been working diligently for the final couple of years on some tasks which can be gonna make DARK ANGEL followers actually pleased, I feel. So, everyone, simply sit tight,” he stated. “I simply do not wanna nebulously announce one thing after which have circumstances past my management come alongside and make issues delayed. I simply wanna have the opportunity to have the ability to say, ‘Sure, that is gonna be a stable date that we will announce for folks, and we’re gonna have the ability to keep on with that date.’ That is what I am all about. So, hold your eyes and ears peeled, everyone.”
Requested what it has been like making new DARK ANGEL music greater than 30 years after the discharge of the band’s final album, 1991’s “Time Does Not Heal”, Gene responded: “Properly, that is one factor. It is like we had a selection. I had a complete DARK ANGEL album written that was prepared to begin getting recorded after the ‘Time Does Not Heal’ document, and circumstances occurred the place the band simply needed to dissolve. So, I had a bunch of fabric written. And when [DARK ANGEL guitarist] Jim Durkin and myself — Jim is not with us, however after we put DARK ANGEL again collectively and we began speaking about, like, ‘What can we wanna do for the longer term? Will we wanna write some new materials?’ And ‘I’ve received some concepts, Gene, and also you most likely have some concepts.’ And I’ve various songs that I despatched to Jim. And when Jim heard that — I despatched it to him on a CD — he freaked out and he was, like, ‘My God, here is our new album. That is gonna be our subsequent document. Hell yeah.’ And he received actually enthusiastic about that materials. However I used to be, like, ‘Hey, Jim, let you know what. I really feel actually strongly about my writing chops, and the songs I am listening to from you proper now are crushing. So how about we simply write new stuff, get collectively and begin writing new materials?’ And so we form of went that route.”
He continued: “For my parts of what I needed DARK ANGEL to sound like, Jim Durkin is a big affect on my writing fashion. So I needed this to have quite a lot of the Jim Durkin affect on it. By way of riffs, there’s not as many from Jim as we have been hoping for, however Jim‘s whole presence is all around the new DARK ANGEL materials that I have been engaged on. And he is an enormous guitar affect on me, in addition to lots of people. So, there’s positively gonna be a fairly hardy Jim Durkin affect. And I simply wanna write a kick-ass steel album. So what I’ve tried to do is just not return 35 years or 37 years or no matter, ‘Darkness Descends’ and even ‘We Have Arrived’, these early albums, or ‘Go away Scars’ or ‘Time Does Not Heal’, I’ve not tried to duplicate something from any of these albums, however I attempted to place myself within the mindset of what if DARK ANGEL simply stored writing albums for the final 30-whatever years, 32, 33 years, the place would we be at now? And in order that has been my strategy on the brand new DARK ANGEL materials.”
Durkin died on March 8, 2023 on the age of 58. An unique member of DARK ANGEL, Durkin performed on the band’s first three albums — 1985’s “We Have Arrived”, 1986’s “Darkness Descends” and 1989’s “Go away Scars” — earlier than departing the group in 1989. He was a part of DARK ANGEL‘s lineup when the band reformed in 2013, and had been enjoying with them, on and off, ever since.
Previous to his dying, Durkin had been sitting out a few of DARK ANGEL‘s gigs. He was changed on the exhibits by Hoglan‘s spouse Laura Christine, who has since joined DARK ANGEL as a everlasting member.
DARK ANGEL launched two albums with Don Doty on vocals — the aforementioned “We Have Arrived” and “Darkness Descends” — earlier than he exited the group and was changed by Ron Rinehart (after a short stint with Jim Drabos in 1987). The band issued two extra studio LPs — “Go away Scars” and “Time Does Not Heal” — earlier than calling it quits in 1992.
Hoglan beforehand talked about DARK ANGEL‘s upcoming LP in Could 2023 in an interview with Friday thirteenth. He stated on the time: “Jim and I, we had gotten collectively various instances to write down some new materials for DARK ANGEL. And we weren’t in a position to get it down on tape an excessive amount of. If DARK ANGELhas any new materials, there is a tune that he is received on there that’s fairly darn DARK ANGEL-esque.
“In tribute to Jim, DARK ANGEL‘s new materials could have a ton of his spirit throughout it — his really feel. Whether or not he really wrote stuff on the brand new stuff or not, his spirit is very there. His imprint is felt all through thrash steel, I really feel. Even earlier than I used to be in DARK ANGEL, I might see Jim‘s affect on bands. Completely. So his legacy will reside forevermore within the realm of maximum steel. His fashion will all the time be part of DARK ANGEL, completely, large time.”
Requested how the following DARK ANGEL album will evaluate to the band’s earlier efforts, Hoglan stated: “Properly, I am unable to actually even touch upon the truth that there would possibly or won’t be an album but. However put it this fashion — if I have been to have any new DARK ANGEL materials, I’d need it to be an extension of the place the band is at now and the place I am at now. And I’d most likely strategy the writing of it in a manner as if DARK ANGEL by no means disappeared for a decade, 20 years, three a long time, or no matter it has been. It is similar to we simply stored doing what we do, and this is able to be the place we’re at proper now. Which I’d wish to be placing out probably the most savage, heaviest materials that DARK ANGEL may. And I am no slouch with writing psychotic, heavy materials. So I’d be very, very excited with the place DARK ANGEL‘s new materials can be if that may have the ability to affirm.”
