GENE HOGLAN Reveals 'Only Challenging Part' Of Doing Double Duty On Upcoming DEATH TO ALL/DARK ANGEL Australian Tour

In a new interview with The Downbeat Podcast, hosted by STRAY FROM THE PATH drummer Craig Reynolds, legendary extreme metal drummer Gene Hoglan spoke about DEATH TO ALL's upcoming January 2027 Australian tour with DARK ANGEL where he will be doing double duty and play in both bands. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The only challenging part of that will be… If we were on a tour bus for that run, I'm into it. We fly from show to show, and we have, like, three-shows-in-a-row kind of thing, a lot of that stuff, so that's where [it will get challenging]. We've got that on the go, and so that's the only challenging part of that. [Early flights], all that, and not getting rest. And I am a serial napper. Everybody knows that I am a napper before the show, and that's how I get my energy for it. And you don't get naps when you're touring Australia. You don't get naps when you're touring South America, because [there's] a lot of fly dates involved, and I'm prepared for that. And so I drink superfood before I go on stage. I try not to do the things like the Red Bulls and all that, but I'll drink superfood, which is just concentrated vitamins, and it gives you a whole lot of energy. And then you're able to go to sleep that night because you're not all revved up on Red Bull. But that sort of thing is pretty helpful."

The current lineup of DEATH TO ALL includes Hoglan (also of DETHKLOK),Steve DiGiorgio (also of TESTAMENT) on bass and Bobby Koelble on guitar. Max Phelps (CYNIC),who has been touring with DEATH TO ALL, is once again handling the vocal and second-guitar duties. Hoglan was the drummer on the DEATH albums "Individual Thought Patterns" (1993) and "Symbolic" (1995),DiGiorgio was the bassist on 1991's "Human" as well as "Individual Thought Patterns", and Koelble was the guitarist on "Symbolic".

On its first Australian tour, DEATH TO ALL will perform a massive legacy set and pay tribute to DEATH's entire catalogue, including material from "Scream Bloody Gore" (1987),"Leprosy" (1988),"Spiritual Healing" (1990),"Human", "Individual Thought Patterns", "Symbolic" and "The Sound Of Perseverance" (1998).

Last fall, DEATH TO ALL completed touring North America as part of "Symbolic Healing", a month-long celebration of two of DEATH's landmark albums: "Spiritual Healing" and "Symbolic".

DEATH TO ALL celebrated "Scream Bloody Gore" and "The Sound Of Perseverance" across North America in 2024.

Along with the dual album celebration, each night on the fall 2025 tour showcased classics from DEATH's catalog.

Founded in 1984 by Chuck Schuldiner under the original name of MANTAS in Altamonte Springs, Florida, DEATH was among the more widely known early pioneers of the death metal sound, along with California's POSSESSED. Inspired by NASTY SAVAGE, DEATH was among the first bands in the Florida death metal scene. In the late '80s, the band was both a part of and integral in defining the death metal scene which gained international recognition with the release of albums by a number of area acts.

DEATH TO ALL operates as a tribute band to the original DEATH, which dissolved in 2001 following Schuldiner's passing.

DARK ANGEL's first new album in 34 years, "Extinction Level Event", was made available digitally in September 2025 via Reversed Records.

In June 2025, DARK ANGEL released "Circular Firing Squad", the second single from "Extinction Level Event". The LP's first single, the "Extinction Level Event" title track, was written by DARK ANGEL guitarist Jim Durkin more than a decade ago, long before he suffered from severe liver disease, and, to the surprise of everyone, passed away in 2023. It was recorded and mixed at the Armoury Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, executive produced by Hoglan, produced and engineered by Rob Shallcross and mixed by Mike Fraser.

Durkin died on March 8, 2023 at the age of 58. An original member of DARK ANGEL, Durkin played on the band's first three albums — 1985's "We Have Arrived", 1986's "Darkness Descends" and 1989's "Leave Scars" — before departing the group in 1989. He was part of DARK ANGEL's lineup when the band reformed in 2013, and had been playing with them, on and off, ever since.

Prior to his death, Durkin had been sitting out some of DARK ANGEL's gigs. He was replaced at the shows by Hoglan's wife Laura Christine, who has since joined DARK ANGEL as a permanent member.