DEATH ANGEL Guitarist: 'The Intensity Level Is Peaking The Meter!'

Reunited San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL will enter a Northern California studio with producer Brian Dobbs (MANMADEGOD, VOIVOD) on December 1 to begin recording their first CD since 1990's "Act III", tentatively due in the spring through Nuclear Blast Records.

"We are still looking around for [a studio] that best suits us, but we do plan to record at home (San Francisco Bay Area)," DEATH ANGEL guitarist Ted Aguilar told BLABBERMOUTH.NET. "[We have not decided on an] album title as of yet, but we do have an album's worth of material, and we plan to write more. I don't want to reveal any song titles, because songs/titles could change from now until recording time. But I can say, we showcased some of the new songs on the East Coast run we did (this past September) & they went over real well.

Aguilar, who originally stepped in for D.A.'s Gus Pepa after Pepa was unable to take part in the group's first reunion shows, had the following to say about the group's new material: "It's still DEATH ANGEL music. Lots of changes, fast and in your face. We didn't down tune guitars or incorporate death metal vocals. Not that it's a bad thing, but we wanted to stick to the original formula. People who liked DEATH ANGEL then will like DEATH ANGEL now."

DEATH ANGEL, who were previously signed to the Enigma and Geffen labels, signed a new deal with Nuclear Blast earlier this month after fielding offers from several companies.

"We met with Nuclear Blast when we were out doing the No Mercy Festival tour [in Europe] last April," Aguilar revealed. "They showed interest in us & we showed interest in them. We feel that Nuclear Blast is good home for DEATH ANGEL. They are fans of the band and heavy music in general. We're excited to be a part of the Nuclear Blast family and labelmates to some great bands (DARKANE, DEW-SCENTED and IN FLAMES)."

DEATH ANGEL's decision to reform comes on the heels of a number of "classic metal" reunions over the course of the last 3-4 years, many of which have ended up with the groups performing to smaller, but no less loyal, audiences who eat up the old material while not necessarily rushing out to buy the bands' newest product. What exactly makes DEATH ANGEL believe that they can be the exception to that "rule"?

"We are as good live as we were back then — in fact we are better now then we were before," DEATH ANGEL guitarist Rob Cavestany said. "The scene has changed and evolved, yes, but we are not trying to do a 'retro metal' type of thing. We, as people and musicians, have also 'evolved' over the years and are going to bring our experience to the table. Also we have bonded together even stronger as we have missed the vibe we always had together, and since we are family, the chemistry is natural between us and the intensity level is peaking the meter! All of this combined with our original style of metal will give the fans a serious bone to chew on... we are HUNGRY for it and this hunger will be undeniable in our new material and live performance."