Death Angel and God Forbid at the Volume 11 Tavern in Raleigh, NC

Friday night was filled with Metal as the In Thrash We Trust Tour tore it’s way through Raleigh, NC…

On May 9, 2008, the In Thrash We Trust Tour rolled its way through the Volume 11 tavern in Raleigh, NC as Light This City, Soilent Green, Death Angel, and God Forbid put on an amazing show! This was one of the longest shows I’ve been to in a while, but I had a great time as the Metal kept rollin’ on into Saturday morning.

The first band to play was actually a local opener called Age of Despair. These guys played before the show was supposed to start, but they actually weren’t half bad! They had a very old school sound that combined sounds from bands like Pantera and Fireball Ministry, but overall, I enjoyed their set.

To get the regular show goin’, Light This City came onstage and tore the venue up! (Not literally) This was the second time I’ve seen these guys and they continue to amaze me. Their style is still not one I would normally jam to, but they put on a great show and vocalist Laura Nichol can wail! She was just as brutal as the first time I saw them, and I really wouldn’t mind going for round 3!

Keepin’ this show kickin’ was the third band of the overall night, Soilent Green. Having proudly played under the name of a 1970s horror flick (Soylent Green) and hailing from the land of Sludge metal (New Orleans, LA), SG absolutely annihilated the place with the killer line-up of Ben Falgoust (Goatwhore) on vocals, Brian Patton (EyeHateGod) playing guitar, Scott Crochet (Hostile Apostle) on bass, and Tommy Buckley (Crowbar) playing drums! As just mentioned, this band has quite an all-star line-up with every member being involved with some other band. Personally, I am also a fan of both Goatwhore and Crowbar, so I already love what Ben and Tommy do, but together with tis line-up, SG is a KILLER band! Their set consisted of some older songs together with some new songs off their newest album Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction, such as “Mental Acupuncture”, “Blessed in the Arms of Servitude”, and “For Lack of Perfect Words”. As a whole, the set was insane and these guys put on a great show. After their set and Death Angel’s set, I was able to get an interview with Brian. Some of the things we discussed were why they chose the name Soilent Green, some of the line-up changes they’ve had and influences on him and the band. Overall, with a great viewing experience and an interview (with some other discussions) under my belt for the evening, I had a really great experience with Soilent Green and I’d love to hang out with these guys again sometime.

After a great set from Soilent Green, it was time to get a lesson in Thrash with the masters, Death Angel. With this show being the first time in 18 years DA has played in North Carolina, an excellent show was to be expected and they delivered! Everybody in the band was absolutely incredible and vocalist Mark Osegueda put on a great show while showing off his, obvious, vocal skills. As a bit of a gift to this NC crowd, they actually played a couple of songs for the first time on this tour to go with some other older songs and some songs off their new album Killing Season including “Lord of Hate”, “Sonic Beatdown”, and “Buried Alive”. Overall, the entire set was awesome, and I was glad to finally get to see them live! After the whole show was over, I was able to get an interview with guitarist Ted Aguilar and bassist Dennis Pepa. Honestly, this was the longest interview I’ve had with the least amount of questions asked and it was a bit more personal than most I’ve done. These guys were really cool to hang out with and talk to while they were hitting me with some pretty interesting stuff like influences on them and bands they like to listen to and things like that. Also, these two had some really good advice for people starting bands. Overall, another great experience with these guys and would definitely jump at the chance to do this again. (And as a personal favor for them, make sure to hit their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/deathangel or their website at www.deathangel.com)

The last band to hit the stage for the night was God Forbid. What a way to end this show! before seeing them live, I had never heard a lot of their material, but I was absolutely impressed with these guys and their performance was insane!

As a whole, this show was absolutely awesome show to go to and I had an incredible time talking to the guys from the bands and I’d love to see any of these bands play again!

Brian Patton (Soilent Green) Interview
Ted Aguilar and Dennis Pepa (Death Angel) Interview

***WARNING: Comments made by band members in interviews may contain language normally censored in our reviews. Since the recording is live, we are not able to censor that material, so please be advised of that.***

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Death Angel – Killing Season

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Death Angel – Killing Season
Nuclear Blast Records

(4/5)

Grab your books and hit the classroom, Thrash is back in session! Death Angel is back and still kickin’ it old school with their newest Thrashterpiece, Killing Season! From start to finish, this 11-track album proves that Death Angel has not lost their touch and continues to bring you that classic, old school Thrash metal style. Guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar absolutely tear it up as drummer Andy Galeon and bassist Dennis Pepa pull up the back with their awesome skills. Heading up the attack is vocalist Mark Osegueda, who is on top of his game throughout the album while receiving back-up from Rob and Dennis! Altogether, these guys are so amazing, they leave me practically speechless! As hard as it is to choose favorites amongst the tracks, but three really caught my attention. The first two are the two opening tracks, “Lord of Hate” (track 1) and “Sonic Beatdown” (track 2). “Lord of Hate” is a great opener because it starts off nice and mellow before hitting you full force with Thrash. “Sonic Beatdown” is great because it helps provide classic example after classic example that old school Thrash will NEVER die. As for the third song, the title is “Resurrection Machine” (track 11) and it is worth every second it plays! Really, it never gets to a high velocity of Thrash, but it shows another side of the album with a slower, heavier feel that includes a more mellow sound combined with pure heaviness. Overall, Killing Season is a great album for anyone who enjoys Thrash metal, or if you’re just starting to get into it. Just remember, in 2008, Thrash is back and “Killing Season” has just begun!

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