DARK ANGEL bassist Michael Gonzalez has brushed off criticism of the group’s comeback single, saying he is “proud” of the music he and his bandmates have created.
Last Friday (April 11),DARK ANGEL released “Extinction Level Event”, the title track of their first new album in 34 years, which is due later in 2025 via Reversed Records. The LP was recorded and mixed at the Armoury Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, executive produced by DARK ANGEL drummer Gene Hoglan, produced and engineered by Rob Shallcross and mixed by Mike Fraser.
Upon its arrival, the “Extinction Level Event” title track was met with a mixed response from DARK ANGEL‘s longtime fans, with one fan writing on Facebook: ” I was just listening to ‘Time Doesn’t Heal’ this week, man, Ron‘s [Rinehart, DARK ANGEL singer] vocals were top notch. Listening to this song i was like: ‘Is that really Ron? What happened to his voice?’ Let’s hope the album has better songs, this one was boring and generical. Totally not worth waiting 34 years.” Another fan chimed in: “All that hype, then this. yawn. No [late DARK ANGEL guitarist Jim] Durkin, no [DARK ANGEL]. Hang it up.” A third fan wrote: “It’s OK. if it was a young band, I would say that’s a great start but for DARK ANGEL, it’s disappointing. Nobody expects a new thrash gem like ‘Darkness Descends’ or a tech cult classic like ‘Time Does Not Heal’, but something like ‘Leave Scars’ would be awesome and respected.”
“The Metal Command” radio show host Tony Webster offered a scathing review of “Extinction Level Event” on Facebook, calling it “absolutely horrendous. It’s four minutes and 16 seconds of my life that I wish I could get back after listening to it,” he wrote. “It’s badly written, uninspired and right now most people are talking about how terrible it is.”
Some of the DARK ANGEL fans were more complimentary of the band’s new song, with one fan writing on Facebook: “Yeah vocals are a bit crazy but the riffs are on point.” Another fan wrote: “The vocal is a bit different to what Ron Rineheart sounded like but that was 34 years ago. It sounds like DARK ANGEL which means they have their own particular sound rather than sounding like another 1,000 standard metal bands. I can’t wait to hear the album.” A third fan wrote: “It would have to grow on me but currently my opinion is contrived from their own formula with less altogether good vocals. No catchy phrasing or cohesive riffing. Doesn’t mean it won’t grow on me or that the rest of the album won’t be good. Overall, I am pleased that they’re back and hope they make a few more runs at it.” A fourth fan said: “People can piss on this all they want but I like it. A few decades pass and people expect everything to stay the exact same? Bollocks. It’s metal and crushes most of the new crap out there today.”
After one person wrote on Facebook, “I gotta wonder if people are slamming on the new DARK ANGEL song only because their online friends are instead of forming their own opinions based on actually giving it a whirl”, Gonzalez weighed in below the post, writing: “It is what it is. We made an album for us and where we are at now. Whether it’s loved or hated, I’m proud of what we’ve done.”
The “Extinction Level Event” title track was written by Durkin a decade ago, long before he suffered from severe liver disease, and, to the surprise of everyone, passed away in 2023.
“Jim Durkin left us with this badass tune,” Hoglan said in a press release last week. “It is so DARK ANGEL and I’m just so excited about it. We made it the lead-off song on the record, not as a tribute to Jim or because of sentimental reasons — like, ‘Here is the song that Jim left us’ — but because it’s just a totally killer song. He wrote it ten years ago, and by today’s standards it’s still ball-crushing.”
The “Extinction Level Event” artwork and layout was designed by Cain Gillis, with concepts by Hoglan.
Earlier this month, Hoglan told the “Everblack” podcast about “Extinction Level Event”: “It’s a pretty ferocious record. I’m stoked with it. It took long enough for it to come out, but now that we’re getting closer to the release, things are starting to get closer to finalized with it.”
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.
DARK ANGEL released two albums with Don Doty on vocals — the aforementioned “We Have Arrived” and “Darkness Descends” — before he exited the group and was replaced by Ron Rinehart (after a brief stint with Jim Drabos in 1987). The band issued two more studio LPs — “Leave Scars” and “Time Does Not Heal” — before calling it quits in 1992.
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