I hate to date myself like this, but as a teenager, I was able to catch Death Angel in 1990 on their Act III tour at Bogarts in Cincinnati. Strangely enough, I was with the same three people I had gone to Bogarts with 36 years ago this past Wednesday night at Mercury Ballroom to see Death Angel’s Act III tour…again.
Formed in 1982 in San Francisco, Death Angel would become legendary as one of the founders of the Bay Area thrash metal scene, alongside the likes of Metallica, Exodus, and Testament. But by their 1988 sophomore record, Frolic Through The Park, the band had already begun experimenting with their sound by adding in elements of alternative, funk, and progressive rock. By the time their third album, Act III, was released in 1990, Death Angel had created quite a diverse sound that was unlike anything their contemporaries were doing at the time. Act III received widespread critical acclaim, and the two music videos from the album received heavy rotation on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. But at a time when thrash bands like Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax were headlining arenas, mainstream success somehow eluded Death Angel. And I still find it unbelievable to this day that Act III wasn’t a bigger success for the band. Of the 10 songs on the album, there isn’t a dud on there. No filler whatsoever. Even today, that album still holds up.
So last year when I saw that Death Angel was celebrating the 35th anniversary of Act III by playing the entire record live, I was just hoping they would come somewhere close enough to Louisville that I could go see them. So I was stoked as hell to see an actual Louisville date pop up in their tour schedule!
Although lineup changes have left only founding member Rob Cavestany (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Mark Osegueda (lead vocals) as the only two remaining members of the band who played on the Act III record, they arguably have a better lineup now with Ted Aguilar (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Damien Sisson (bass), and Will Carroll (drums), than they did back then. So I knew this was going to be a great set. However, this would end up exceeding all of my expectations!
Opening with “Seemingly Endless Time,” Death Angel proceeded to take the next 50 minutes or so working their way through all 10 tracks on Act III in the order they appear on the record, including the largely acoustical tracks “Veil of Deception” and “A Room with a View,” on which Cavestany handles the majority of the vocals.
When I say that Cavestany and Osegueda still sound and play every bit as good as they did back in 1990, I’m not joking. I was blown away by the fact that both members are still very much at the top of their game. And given the band they’ve built around them, Death Angel literally sounds better than ever.
Given the rigors of age and the strain of touring for decades, all singers’ voices change and mature over time. Not that they can’t sing their older material, they just sound different doing it. Except Mark Osegueda. My God, at 57 years old, the guy can still hit screams and belt out the tunes with as much vigor and emotion as he did when he was in his late teens/early twenties. It’s absolutely astounding. And aside from a few grey hairs, he even still looks the same.
After finishing the Act III record and leaving the stage, the band came back out and proceeded to play six additional songs written over the last 20 or so years, including their latest single “Cult of the Used.” However, conspicuously absent were any songs from their first two albums, The Ultra-Violence and Frolic Through The Park, (although judging from their other recent setlists, “Mistress of Pain” from The Ultra-Violence was most likely supposed to be played but got cut due to time constraints, which Osegueda mentioned something about before the band played closing number “Thrown to the Wolves”).
Not that their set was perfect. There were some glitches here and there, such as drummer Will Carroll jumping into the song “The Organization” immediately after finishing “Veil of Deception,” which the band was definitely not expecting and caused some friction on stage, most notably between Carroll and Cavestany, (I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Cavestany was certainly not happy about it).
A few songs later, Osegueda began telling the story behind the lyrics to “Disturbing the Peace” before bassist Damien Sisson stopped him and reminded him that the next song on the setlist was “EX-TC,” which is the track the precedes “Disturbing the Peace” on Act III. Osegueda laughed it off and picked the story back up after playing “EX-TC”.
And reminiscent of the movie This Is Spinal Tap, Death Angel had their own awkward moment on stage. During the first encore song, “Humanicide,” the Act III backdrop behind the stage was supposed to fall, revealing a second backdrop featuring the Death Angel logo. But things didn’t quite go according to plan. About 2/3 of the backdrop came down, but the other 1/3 got hung up on something, sending a couple stagehands to furiously tug on it in an attempt to get it to fall. When this proved fruitless, the entire lighting rig it was hanging on had to be lowered so it could be removed, then raised again with the second backdrop attached. Yes, this all happened while they were playing the song live on stage. The band didn’t even address it though, they just played on like the professionals they are, pretending like this huge distraction going on in real time behind them wasn’t actually happening – which, in all honesty, made it that much funnier. And yes, the entire fiasco is on video.
Problems aside, Death Angel delivered one of the best live sets I’ve seen by any band in a long time! If you missed it, I highly suggest the next time they come to town, you show up!
Also on the bill was Vio-lence, another legendary Bay Area thrash band that came up in the late 80s/early 90s right alongside Death Angel. Perhaps best known as the band that launched Robb Flynn’s career before he left to form Machine Head in 1991, (Vio-lence’s original lineup also featured Phil Demmel, who would later join Machine Head as well), Vio-lence still obviously has something to prove in 2026. Although only vocalist Sean Killian remains from the original lineup, like Death Angel, he’s filled the band with top-notch musicians, their older material has never sounded better, and the newer material is vicious. Their seven-song set saw the band focusing mostly on their first two albums, 1988’s Eternal Nightmare and 1990’s Oppressing the Masses, and it was certainly cool to hear my two favorite Vio-lence songs, “Calling in the Coroner” and “World in a World” (which they closed with), live.
Led by Richie Cavalera (stepson of Soulfly and ex-Sepultura vocalist/guitarist Max Cavalera), Phoenix, AZ groove-metal band Incite put on a rather energetic set. Although the band has been around for more than two decades, I am completely unfamiliar with them. However, the band sounded and played solid as hell, and certainly necessitated further future listening on my part.
Kicking off the night was Louisville’s own modern brutal death metal band with an old-school edge, Cell Intruder, who proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they belonged on that stage by delivering the most furious set of the night. These guys are the real deal, and if you haven’t seen them live yet, get off your ass and do so, you won’t regret it!
