Death Angel

Death Angel was started in San Francisco, California in 1982 by Filipino-American musicians Rob Cavestany (lead guitar), Gus Pepa (rhythm guitar) and Dennis Pepa (bass, vocals), and Andy Galeon (drums). The drummer was ten years old when the band formed. Though, singer Mark Osegueda didn't join the band until 1984. The band released a (now-rare) demo cassette "Kill as One" (1986), which was produced by Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, and later signed a deal with Enigma Records. Two full-length releases on that label, "The Ultra Violence" (1987) and "Frolic Through the Park" (1988), were released and live album "Fall from Grace" (1990). When Death Angel was on break in 1989, they parted ways with Enigma Records and signed to Geffen Records. Their third album "Act III" (1990) was released in the following year. The band was also slated to be the opening band for the Clash of the Titans tour (featuring Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax later in the year. While on the road in Arizona, Death Angel suffered a horrific tour RV crash, in which Galeon was critically injured, needing more than a year to fully recover. During this time Osegueda left the band and moved to New York, got married, and did other things. He wanted to pursue a life outside of thrash metal. Following the split, the remaining members performed a few shows in the Bay Area, appearing as "The Past", playing acoustic-only sets. This was the end of Death Angel. In the summer of 1991, the band changed their name to The Organization, with guitarist Rob Cavestany taking over lead vocal duties. The Organization released two albums and broke up after Dennis Pepa left the band. In 1998, Cavestany, Galeon and Osegueda resurfaced together with Swarm along with bassist Michael Isaiah. Swarm toured with Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell and released their first (and only) album (to date) "Beyond the End" (2003). Death Angel reunited in 2001 at "Thrash of the Titans", a cancer benefit show for Testament front man Chuck Billy. Dennis' brother Gus was unable to participate and the band recruited their longtime friend Ted Aguilar to be his replacement. Originally planned as a one-off show, the band received such an overwhelming response that the show led to a string of other well-received gigs around the San Francisco area and a more permanent reunion in 2003. The band's fourth album "The Art of Dying" (2004) surfaced in the following year on Nuclear Blast America and is also the band's first studio release since "Act III" (1990). "Archives and Artifacts" (2005), a box set with remastered versions of their first two long out of print albums "The Ultra-Violence" (1987) and "Frolic Through the Park" (1988), along with a bonus Rarities CD and DVD, followed. Death Angel now still remains active today.