Death Angel at the Catalyst

Photos and words by Charles Yozgott

 This was a historic night in Santa Cruz since Death Angel hasn’t played there for 30 plus years. Lead singer Mark Osegueda told the pack crow at The Catalyst in between songs that it’s been too long since they’ve been there and that they were about to make the night a memorable one. This was the first show back in the US for Death Angel after touring Europe and the night before their 8th annual Another Death Angel Xmas shows in San Francisco. Opening the night was fellow Bay Area thrashers Phantom Witch followed by Southern California’s finest Exmortus and Warbringer.

Phantom Witch brought the high energy to start the show right away and wasted no time getting the crowd into it. The die hard fans that showed up early was treated to free shirts as lead singer Zach Cox threw out at least 10 of them during their set. They covered Slayer’s hard hitting track “Disciple” and it sounded amazing, the entire venue went nuts and everyone sang along. 

Southern California’s very own thrashers Exmortus was up next and they continued the onslaught of thrash metal. They just finished up the first leg of their Necrotour and were ready to give Santa Cruz some tasty riffs. Chase Becker wasn’t with them on this particular night so a friend of theirs filled in. They played tracks off their new album Necrophony like “Oathbreaker” and “Mind of Metal” and a couple classics from the 2014 album Slave to the Sword the title track “Slave to the Sword” and the closing track “Metal Is King”. Make sure to catch the second leg of their Necrotour tour when they come to a city near you!

Fellow Southern California thrash metal brothers Warbringer was  next and the venue was packed front to back. Jardan “Conan” Gonzalez, lead singer of Exmortus, filled in for guitarist Chase Becker and played every song perfectly. Playing hits like “Silhouettes”, “Firepower Kills”, and “Hunter Seeker” the packed floor turned into one huge mosh pit during each song. Fan favorite “Remain Violent” was played last and crowd surfers showed up and didn’t stop. The pure adrenaline pumping through the veins of everyone made this a night that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Keep your eyes and ears open for another tour and hopefully a new album soon!

Legendary thrash metal giants Death Angel closed out the night with a setlist that spanned their entire career. Wasting no time they opened with “Lord of Hate”, the opening track from 2008’s album Killing Season, and had the crowd moshing away. Will Carroll showed why he is one of the best in the business while they play “Voracious Souls” from their 1987 debut album The Ultra Violence. “Seemingly Endless Time” the opening track off of the 1990 album Act III was next and sounded amazing. Rob Cavestany was shredding like crazy on his signature guitars as they played “Buried Alive”, another track from Killing Season, and “3rd Floor” off of the 1988 album Frolic Through The Park. Those first five tracks played by Death Angel was just getting the crowd warmed up and thirsty for more.

Bassist Damien Sisson and rhythm guitarist Ted Aguilar were having a blast on stage playing these songs and their energy poured into the crowd which had the audience singing and yelling the lyrics at the top of their lungs. “I Came for Blood” off of the 2019 album Humanicide was next followed by another track off of Act III “Disturbing the Peace”. Fan favorite “The Dream Calls for Blood”, the title track from the 2013 album, was next and the entire floor was a mosh pit. The song f”The Moth” from their 2016 album The Evil Divide was next and the audience couldn’t contain themselves. Crowd surfing was a regular occurrence at this show and didn’t slow down, especially during “Humanicide” and “Relentless Revolution”. “Truce” followed, which was their second track played from the 2010 album Relentless Retribution and then the classic riff from the song “The Ultra-Violence” started and The Catalyst turned into an insane asylum. Only the intro was played but it’s always a good day when any part of “The Ultra-Violence” is played. Closing off the night with the track “Thrown to the Wolves”, from the 2004 album The Art of Dying, was a perfect night cap to send the fans off with. Death Angel always puts on an amazing show for their fans no matter where they play, if you haven’t seen Death Angel live before be sure to the next time they come to a city near you!

Death Angel

Warbringer

Exmortus

Phantom Witch