In a brand new interview with Altars Of Steel, DARK ANGEL drummer Gene Hoglan spoke concerning the reunited California thrash metallic pioneers’ upcoming first new album in 34 years, “Extinction Stage Occasion”, which is due later in 2025 through Reversed Data. Requested what his and his bandmates’ expectations are for the follow-up to 1991’s “Time Does Not Heal”, Gene stated (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Nicely, our expectations — I all the time have fairly excessive expectations. What I suppose I anticipate is only for individuals to take heed to the report, simply test it out. I’ve no expectations of whether or not individuals are gonna prefer it or dislike it. I like it. I believe it is superior, man. I am stoked to be part of it. I am stoked to be part of the writing of it. I am stoked for this to be a DARK ANGEL album. I am stoked for this being an album being launched proper now on this state of metallic. I am able to convey it to all people. And like I say, if individuals prefer it, cool. If they do not prefer it, no matter. Test it out. That is the one factor I ask of anyone. Test the entire report out. I believe the album is, like 48 minutes lengthy. All people has 48 minutes to make… I’ve a sense you may give every tune the ten-second check and you will be, like, ‘Oh, yeah.’ Give all the album a four-minute — check every tune for 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds. You are gonna be into it.
“That is written for me, for us, for DARK ANGEL, however we’re all fairly avid metallic followers and all of us just about know what’s a kick-ass metallic strategy, and I believe we undoubtedly have that with this report,” Hoglan continued. “I am actually enthusiastic about all features of this album, and I simply can’t look forward to individuals to listen to it. I am stoked for this. So I’ve zero trepidation in any way. And I by no means do. I by no means [think], ‘Oh, I’m wondering if individuals are gonna like our music or like stuff I do.’ I by no means have that. So right here it’s, proper in your face. I am excited for everyone to listen to it, and I am excited for anyone’s opinion on it. Like I say, good, dangerous, no matter. Simply test it out, give it that probability, and I am actually assured. So there you go. That is the place I stand.”
Requested “how a lot” of late DARK ANGEL guitarist Jim Durkin followers are going to listen to on “Extinction Stage Occasion” so far as the songwriting is worried, Hoglan stated: “The title monitor, ‘Extinction Stage Occasion’, that’s completely Jim‘s tune from high to backside. I wrote the lyrics within the vocals for it, however musically that is Jim. And I do know we have now one other tune the place Jim was in a position to… Jim acquired along with Eric [Meyer, DARK ANGEL guitarist] they usually wrote some stuff. Jim has a few songs which might be happening to this report. And this tune, ‘Extinction Stage Occasion’, that is one which Jim and I’ve labored on a little bit bit collectively.
“When Jim got here to me after we had completed a number of… We had completed quite a few rehearsals and possibly we had performed a present or two, again in 2014 after we acquired again collectively,” Gene continued. “Jim took me apart one time once I was at his place or one thing like that, and he was, like, ‘I’ve a tune that I wrote, and I wrote it for DARK ANGEL. I wrote it for something, if we had been ever to report something ever once more, or if we had been in a position to get again collectively and play some extra exhibits. And right here it’s.’ And it occurred to be this tune, ‘Extinction Stage Occasion’. It had a special title on the time, and like I say, it was simply an instrumental, however I used to be blown away by it. I believed it was so DARK ANGEL. I believed it was so Jim Durkin, that it has each stamps throughout it. And so I simply acquired tremendous excited. And I am fairly positive at no matter my subsequent interview was later that week, ‘trigger I used to be, like, ‘Jim, we’re gonna write new songs. Let’s write all these things.’ And I bear in mind turning over a disc of all the fabric that we had written again in 1991 and in ’92 for what was going to be the following DARK ANGEL album, which was gonna be referred to as ‘Atrocity Exhibition’. I had all that in simply demo kind. I had it on the CD, and I handed it over to Jim, and Jim was, like, That is our subsequent album. Holy crap. We have a whole album written already. Each tune on right here, let’s launch these.’ And I used to be, like, ‘That is actually cool and all that. That is good to know. Nevertheless, I really like what you might be writing proper now, Jim. What you simply dropped at the desk right here is de facto thrilling to me. And what I do know that I can convey to the desk. These songs [for what was supposed to be ‘Atrocity Exhibition’], right now, had been 20, 22 years outdated at the moment, I used to be, like, ‘That is good that we have now that within the can someplace, if we have to pull some riffs out, pull a tune out. I say let’s begin writing collectively and see the place that goes.’ And time allowing, Jim and I acquired collectively as a lot as we each might, ‘trigger we had been each fairly busy dudes and we acquired collectively as a lot as we might. And once I was reaching out to Jim, once I knew that I used to be gonna have a while out there to start out recording… ‘The pandemic’s over. We will get again collectively and begin getting all of our concepts collectively,’ that is when Jim‘s communication, he form of went AWOL a little bit bit, MIA — lacking in motion. And we had been used to that from Jim. We had been used to that as a result of there are lots of occasions when Jim would disappear from the textual content threads and the e-mail threads and all. He would disappear for months at a time, and we by no means anxious about it. However I used to be having a tough time getting a maintain of Jim simply to say, ‘Hey, man, I am going to come as much as L.A.,’ ‘trigger I reside in San Diego two, three hours away from Jim. However I used to be going up there as a lot as I might. Once I was reaching out to Jim saying, ‘Hey, I’ve acquired an enormous block of time out there. Let’s get collectively and solidify all these concepts,’ Jim was reasonably difficult to get ahold of. We didn’t know at the moment what he was going by, health-wise. However the truth that he had gone lacking, I suppose, from our communication, like I stated, that wasn’t an enormous shock. It wasn’t something alarming at that time. So I simply thought, ‘Nicely, let’s simply carry on shifting ahead.’ And I am continually reaching out to Jim, like, ‘Hey, man, I’ve acquired this tune.’ I simply stored engaged on materials. Laura Christine, our new guitarist, who was Jim‘s choice to exchange him, she’d hear me writing and she or he would toss in a riff right here and there. And I suppose, aside from my very own writing model, there’s numerous Jim Durkin on right here and there is additionally numerous Laura Christine on this report, as a result of Jim was my first guitar hero. I discovered how one can play guitar by jamming with Jim a lot once I was actually, actually younger, once I was nonetheless an adolescent. And since Laura Christine and I’ve labored collectively a lot over the past 15, 16 years, her model I’ve absorbed fairly a bit. And that stands to purpose.
“In DARK ANGEL‘s evolution, we have by no means had two albums sound the identical,” Hoglan added. “‘Darkness Descends’ didn’t sound like ‘We Have Arrived’, and ‘Go away Scars’ didn’t sound like ‘Darkness Descends’, and so forth. We did not need it to sound — as a result of that is what all people was asking me, like, ‘Is it gonna sound like ‘Darkness Descends’?’ ‘Is it gonna sound like ‘Time Does Not Heal’ or ‘We Have Arrived’?’ What’s it gonna sound like? And I am simply, like, it is gonna sound like DARK ANGEL right here and at the moment. So we took the strategy of, what if DARK ANGEL by no means took a hiatus? What if we simply stored writing songs, writing albums, placing out data? The place would we be at proper now? However, yeah, that was how that went. We simply [approached it as], what would we sound like at the moment if we wrote music, like we by no means stopped writing music, what would our music sound like as of late presently? And that is why I am actually stoked. It is, like, it doesn’t matter what, it won’t sound similar to ‘Darkness Descends’ or ‘Time Does Not Heal’ or something, but it surely undoubtedly appears like DARK ANGEL. We’re channeling numerous the outdated DARK ANGEL power and stuff like that. So there’s numerous that. And I believe individuals are gonna hear it they usually’re gonna go, ‘Yeah, I undoubtedly hear that it is DARK ANGEL. Little question of that.’ In order that’s fairly good.”
Requested what the suggestions has been to date to the primary two singles he and his DARK ANGEL bandmates have launched, “Round Firing Squad” and the “Extinction Stage Occasion” title monitor, Gene stated: “Nicely, I’ve gotta admit I do not take note of something from anyone. I am by no means on-line. I don’t go surfing, so I get reviews from pals. All I do know is my pals textual content me they usually go, ‘We love the brand new songs.’ Once we launched the album cowl, [they told me], ‘Hey, man, nice album cowl. We love the art work.’ My administration, the supervisor or whoever, or anyone else within the band, in the event that they take note of what the world says, then they do. However I hear issues from those that take note of that kind of factor, and I solely hear the nice. If the world is saying, ‘Oh, boo to DARK ANGEL,’ I by no means hear it, as a result of I am sitting right here going, ‘Yay, DARK ANGEL.’ So it by no means will get to me.
“I’ve by no means completed one factor ever in my profession that has paid consideration to what the surface world thinks. That is how I can keep an actual good tunnel imaginative and prescient to the place it is, like, all the world might be telling me, ‘This isn’t the nice approach to go,’ however I am going to by no means know till I attempt it myself and win or fail at it, as a result of I do not take heed to something however this factor proper right here [points to his heart]. That is the one factor I take heed to. So there you go. However I believe individuals are digging it. And if they don’t seem to be, hey, man — that is why I say, give all the album an opportunity. Give it a shot. Hearken to it. And in the event you do not prefer it after listening to the report, then hey, that is my fault. Then I’ll take full duty for that. However I’ve a sense individuals are gonna be going, like, ‘God, Lord almighty. This album’s killer.’ That is the best way I really feel about it. So there you go.”
The “Extinction Stage Occasion” title monitor was written by Durkin lengthy earlier than he suffered from extreme liver illness, and, to the shock of everybody, handed away on March 8, 2023 on the age of 58. It was recorded and combined on the Armoury Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, govt produced by Hoglan, produced and engineered by Rob Shallcross and combined by Mike Fraser.
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.
The “Extinction Stage Occasion” art work and structure was designed by Cain Gillis, with ideas by Hoglan.
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.