Although the Big 4 always seemed exclusionary and possibly needed revision or mere additions, there is little doubt that Death Angel have flown the flag of thrash metal with great effect for over three decades. What started with the release of the 1983’s ‘Heavy Metal Insanity’ demo and boatloads of word-of-mouth about their menacing live shows, eventually turned into a full-fledged record deal and the ensuing release of 1987’s ‘The Ultra-Violence.’

For the uninitiated, the band have released 9 full-lengths and have since became a staple of the Nuclear Blast records roster. A veritable headliner in the US and abroad, it would seem their trajectory has been on an upward swing ever since solidifying a new (er) core line-up 14 years ago.

Since 2009 and eventually the recording of 2010’s ‘Relentless Retribution,’ the line-up has remained the same with Rob Cavestany (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Osegueda (lead vocals), Ted Aguilar (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Will Carroll (drums), and Damien Sisson (bass).

With Death Angel’s annual Christmas shows looming, we caught up with drummer / KISS fanatic / metal DJ / heavy metal nice guy, Will Carroll, just before their headlining tour overseas with Arizona’s own Sacred Reich.

Death Angel and the brand has been growing at an insane rate since COVID. What do you attribute that to besides more people wanting to get out of the house, etc?

I think most bands are “going for the throat” so to speak in terms of exposure and getting their name out there as much as possible since the pandemic. Being dormant for two years really showed everybody how quickly everything you love (concerts, movies, restaurants etc.) can be taken away and the possibility of it happening again is a reality. There’s a huge demand for live music, new albums, merchandise, meet and greets, etc.. Any band worth their weight should be supplying it.

You and Damien first recorded on 2010’s ‘Relentless Retribution.’ Since then, the band only released (3) more records. You seem to have boundless energy. Do your own aspirations ever clash with DA’s release timetable?

Not really. I have plenty of other musical outlets to keep me busy (Old Grandad, Hellhunter, Scarecrow, AC/DZ) when DA aren’t touring or recording. And they’ve been really cool about me doing other projects or jamming with other bands. The schedules always end up working out. All my other bands know my situation and know that DA is my #1 priority so when I’m unavailable for 5 or 6 months at a time it’s no surprise.

If you had to rate just the records you played on, would ‘Humanicide’ top the list? Any records you wish you could have recorded or mixed differently.

Actually ‘Humanicide’ would be at the bottom. My list from favorite to least favorite is 1. Dream, 2. Evil, 3. Relentless, 4. Humanicide. I’m not really happy with the snare sound on ‘Humanicide.’ It’s not bad, but It just doesn’t sound like me. The drum sound overall lacks a uniqueness. They sound great, but also sound like a million other metal drum tones out there today. There’s a lot of great material on ‘Humanicide.’ but there are a few moments where it seems to be not up to par with everything on the other 3 albums. It felt like we maybe played it safe whereas the other 3 albums very much have their own personality in the production, songwriting, performance and just overall vibe. I’m very proud of all the albums I’ve recorded with DA and think they’re all awesome in their own way, but one of them has to be at the bottom, right?

What is the working title of the new yet-to-be-released record? How many songs are finished?

There’s no working title as far as I know. We have a handful of songs demo’d and are working on more. We keep getting these amazing tour offers which slows down the album making process. I can think of much worse situations to be in.

If Nuclear Blast has a re-issue campaign, do you guys have unreleased bonus tracks and special live versions?

I believe there is only 1 song this current version of the band has recorded that has never seen the light of day. I think it’s called “Spiral” and was recorded during ‘The Evil Divide’ sessions. It’s a complete song, mixed and ready-to-go. We have a shit ton of live stuff. Our sound guy, Thilo records our shows almost every night. Usually during soundcheck, he’ll blast some stuff from the night before to get his levels. It’s neat to hear last night’s performance at that volume and it’s also a great way to keep tabs on my playing.

You’ve had a terrible experience with COVID on the first round. How bad was your most recent? Knowing you had pretty much experienced death via visions, hallucinations, etc, are you worried when you go on lengthy tours?

Obviously my second bout with COVID was nowhere near as intense as my first but it kicked my ass for sure. I was down for about a week. Right after we got back from our Japan/Philippines trip. I was getting weird recall of how I felt the days leading up to my coma. Not a pleasant experience. As I do this interview, I’m packing for our European co-headlining tour with Sacred Reich. It’s obviously going to be an amazing tour and I’m excited about playing for all of our Euro fans, but I’m not going to lie, a part of me is dreading going across the pond. I almost died from a virus/disease I contracted over there so I will always equate Europe with my COVID ordeal, which is unfortunate, as I love Europe.

You play drums quite differently than Andy Galeon yet bring a whole new ambiance and sound to the records he played on. Do you consciously think about the original beats, fills, and cadence when doing a song like ‘Evil Priest.’

I definitely pay attention to the original beats and do my best to keep them true to the original recording. I like adding more double kick to certain spots of the old songs. As far as fills go there’s a number of key fills that I have to do but, for the most part, I do it my way. It’s a delicate thing. On one hand, I want to keep it true to the original but I also want to keep it up to speed with our current sound since Damien and I joined. That’s where the extra double bass and more Thrash metal related drum fills come in.

Who are your current sponsors. Any ones you’re chasing that you’d love to represent?

I’m endorsed by Pearl Drums, Meinl Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks, Czarcie Kopyto Pedals and Low Boy beaters. I’m very happy with all of them. However, there may be a change coming in the not- too-distant future. That’s really all I can say about that. The one company that I’ve wanted to represent since I was a child is Ludwig, but I know that’s next to impossible.

The annual Christmas shows at GAMH sold out immediately. Any chance of adding another GAMH show? Very excited to see you’ve added The Catalyst this year.

Two shows at the GAMH is good enough. I think there was talks about possibly doing a third night but we decided it would be fun to play Santa Cruz the night before. We’re doing two different sets for the SF gigs so we’ve been rehearsing a lot of songs.

The newly-reformed Forbidden play support on both shows. Frolic opens Thursday night’s billing and Tornadic opens Friday’s festivities. Doors open at 6pm and the show starts promptly at 7pm. All ages are welcome. Tickets are $35. However, both shows are now now sold out. A handful of tickets may be released day of show. See venue for details and updates at https://gamh.com. The Great American Music Hall is located at 859 O’Farrell St. in San Francisco.

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Eddie Jorgensen

Categories: Death Angel, Interviews, News