DEATH ANGEL Frontman: 'There's No Better Therapy Out There' Than Performing For Fans

DEATH ANGEL singer Mark Osegueda was interviewed on the March 10-12 edition of Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show. You can now listen to the chat using the Podbean widget below. A few excerpts follow.

Full Metal Jackie: The latest DEATH ANGEL album, "The Evil Divide", is a very angry album. It's funny [to say the record is angry] because you're such a happy and giggly dude. How much do you rely on music as a way to purge anger and other emotions from yourself?

Mark: "I think more than ever, more than ever. That is my thing. You're not, ironically, the first person to bring that up that: 'You're always in such a good mood. You're always laughing. You find a joy in everything.' And I think the reason being is because I have this outlet that I think a lot of people that aren't musicians don't necessarily have that, or, you know, do some sort of truly strenuous physical activity. But when we're on tour and night after night I get to yell out my aggressions and see the release that it's giving to other people, there's no better therapy out there — there really isn't. And I thrive off that feeling, I do, and I get it out every night and it drains me, but, at the same time, it just fills me with an abundance of energy for the next night."

Full Metal Jackie: What changes about the way metal invigorates you when you've been playing it most of your life?

Mark: "Well, I removed myself from it for quite a few years, as far as when DEATH ANGEL had a hiatus. So I think the first time around, as magical as that time was, now I look back on it with a greater appreciation. And when I took that downtime off, I thought if I ever have the opportunity to do this once again, I'm gonna savor every second of it. And so now I have this appreciation for metal that I wish I had the first time around. I mean, I loved it as a teenager — I just loved it, playing it as a teenager, and I ate it and breathed it — but now just the appreciation is much more just… I don't know… just all-encompassing. And while I'm onstage to while I'm recording, I'm enjoying every bit. And even if there's a time I get pissed off, so to speak, I'm just thinking, you know, if I'm lucky enough in my life to be complaining for one moment about music or performing music or creating music, I'm very far ahead of the ball, I'm very far ahead in the game. If you're lucky enough to get to complain about your passion, keep it to yourself. [Laughs]"

Full Metal Jackie: The current lineup has been together coming up on eight years now. What are the significant things that have really bonded you together, both musically and personally?

Mark: "I think with the first album since we came back with this particular lineup, [which] was 'Relentless Retribution', we were really definitely getting to learn each other and each other's strong points and just kind of figure out each other as people. And so I am very proud of that record, that was a very aggressive record and our first step in this kind of newer reborn aggressive side of the band. And I think now we've done so much touring, as a matter of fact, with this lineup — more touring than the original Mach One lineup did or the Mach Two lineup has done. This is the most touring we have ever done as a band, with this lineup, and it's just made us stronger players individually, stronger players as a unit, stronger performers for sure, not just our musical ability but just how we are onstage. And it's just… we really feel that bond of 'it's us against the world' when we're on stage. You know, there's that friendly competition with any band we're playing with, touring with, on a festival with, and we just wanna make it... If we're playing last, we wanna make it be known why we're last. And if we're not playing last, we want to make it so people who have to play after us go, 'Wow! We've gotta follow that.' We do it now with a confidence that we might not have had the first few shows with this lineup, or the first even few tours with this lineup. But now we definitely feel like we're on to something, 'cause of the reactions of the crowd and the popularity of each album that comes prior to the last getting more popular. I think we're on the right track, for sure."

Full Metal Jackie: DEATH ANGEL are a band that's been around for a long time at this point. In the music business, it has changed so much since the big budget days of major labels. What makes the way you record and tour today a better fit for your life?

Mark: "With technology, it's come so far that it kind of expedites the recording process. It really does. And for us, it's been wonderful, 'cause we can turn around and get product out faster than we woud have, say, in the '80s without quality being affected. The digital technology has come so far. And also with the songwriting process, Rob [Cavestany, guitar] can just fly files over to me of stuff he's recorded and I can just start writing from home, whereas before there was always some big recording device or your little portable mini studios. And now you don't necessarily need that, and it's been wonderful. When you go into a recording studio now, how they look nowadays versus how they looked in the '80s has transformed immensely as well. I mean, just the sound quality you're getting for the budgets you're working with, whether you're a band of our level or a band larger than us or a band smaller than us, I think it helps bands smaller than us immensely. As far as on the road, that's a whole different story. Because record sales don't add up to what they used to, now when we're on the road, a day off is money burning. So there's very few days off on the road; you're playing almost every night, and you're almost relying on that adrenaline that the crowd gives you, because sometimes it's inhuman, borderline inhumane, some of the many nights we have to play in a row. [Laughs] But we do it because for our love of the music, and it keeps the band alive, and it keeps the fans hungry for more."

To see a full list of stations carrying Full Metal Jackie's program and when it airs, go to FullMetalJackieRadio.com.

Full Metal Jackie also hosts "Whiplash", which airs every Sunday night from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on the Los Angeles radio station 95.5 KLOS. The show can be heard on the KLOS web site at 955klos.com or you can listen in on the KLOS channel on iHeartRadio.