Death Angel is a Filipino-American thrash metal band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1982, they arose out of the Bay Area thrash metal scene that had also given birth to Metallica, Megadeth and Exodus, among others, to make their mark on the Metal map. Death Angel was unique in that all of the members were related by blood (except for newest member, guitarist Ted Aguilar, a long time friend of the band) and under 20 years of age at the time of their remarkably accomplished major label debut release, The Ultra-Violence.
In 1985, they recorded a demo with Metallica's Kirk Hammett as producer, which led to a record deal with Enigma Records. They then signed a deal with Enigma Records and released two critically acclaimed albums with that label The Ultra-Violence ( 1986), Frolic Through The Park ( 1988) and one undeservedly maligned live album, Fall From Grace ( 1990). They signed a deal with Geffen Records in 1989 and released their third critically acclaimed album Act III in the following year. The band split up in 1992 after a tour bus crash in the Arizon Desert in which drummer Andy Galeon was critically injured and needed more than a year to recover. Vocalist Mark Osegueda left the band during the down time and moved to New York to pursue a life outside of music. After Galeon's recovery the remaining members continued under the name The Organization (with guitarist Rob Cavestany taking on lead vocal duties) and recorded two albums; 1993's The Organization and 1995's Savor The Flavor on Metal Blade Records before bassist Dennis Pepa left in 1995. The remaining three original members reformed (with bassist Michael Isaiah) as Swarm and released the 4 song Devour EP in 1999 and the full-length Beyond The End in 2002.
They reunited in 2001 for "Thrash of the Titans", a cancer benefit show for Testament frontman Chuck Billy, which led to a string of other well-received gigs and a more permanent reunion. In 2004, 14 years after their last release as Death Angel, they released a new album entitled The Art Of Dying, much to the delight of many long-time fans. Archives & Artifacts, a box set with remastered versions of their first two long-out-of-print albums The Ultra-Violence and Frolic Through The Park, a bonus Rarities CD and a DVD, followed in 2005.
