Death Angel
Great American Music Hall
December 16, 2024
Photos by Raymond Ahner
Holiday traditions are what make this time of year special. We look forward to re-connecting with family and friends at fun-filled get togethers, creating longtime memories of the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas before the last sands of the yearly hourglass expire.
The ninth annual Another Death Angel Christmas, coordinated by and featuring Bay Area OG thrashers Death Angel is quickly becoming one of the most anticipated of San Francisco’s holiday traditions.
Featuring visions of head banging and mosh pits, the unmistakable authentic sounds of Bay Area thrash metal, and the smell of weed and beer permeating the party, this year’s edition drew rockers from all over California to the sold out Great American Music Hall for two nights of high intensity holiday rock.
When Death Angel (Mark Osegueda – vocals, Rob Cavestany – guitars, Ted Aguilar – guitars, Damien Sisson – bass and Will Carroll – drums) appeared onstage to deliver the monstrous sounds of ‘Thrown to the Wolves’ (The Art of Dying – 2004), it was a holiday miracle that the roof of the venerable Tenderloin venue did not blow.
It was all love for and from the band who originally cut their teeth thrashing in the fog of Daly City as the first all-Filipino metal band. Osegueda (as engaging and talented a metal frontman as there is) continuously stated his affection for the Bay Area scene and the fans. ‘We love you guys, and we do this for you. We are here because of this scene, and we are playing tonight because of you.”
Now an undeniable global metal juggernaut, Death Angel have not only influenced the shape of Bay Area metal, but they have put their mark on thrash metal as a genre, cutting a path from the local stages at Ruthie’s, The Stone, The Mab, and The Omni, to international fame.
As influential as Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, or any other metal band to stretch boundaries and ascend from the origins of thrash in the 80s, Death Angel has overcome a series of obstacles (accidents, lineup changes, and label issues) to evolve into a heavy metal titan in their own right.
With the crowd pressed up to the front of the stage with their favorite holiday beverages (beer), the band leaned into their debut record The Ultra-Violence (1987) which was featured throughout the set.
Upon the intro to ‘Voracious Souls,’ immediately all chaos broke loose. Drinks went flying as the crowd swirled into a rollicking pit. Guys and girls were hoisted up and on top of the crowd and passed toward the front where they were intercepted by possibly the nicest and biggest stage security you will ever see…who then released the crowd surfers back into the audience….over and over again, as guitarists Cavestany and Aguilar (who Osegueda claims is the most Filipino man in the Bay Area) stalked the front of the stage coaxing the pit action to go faster.
On cue, the pit grew and circled like an out of control merry go-round….only leading with flailing fists, and shoulders. It was insanity up in front, bodies crashing into each other in a brutal mosh.
This was all the metal equivalent of a holiday hug, and Osegueda framed it as such saying “Thanks for joining us to release some aggression in a positive way….we love you all so very much!”
The festivities took off from there as Death Angel cut through their catalog, unleashing deep cuts like ‘Seemingly Endless Time,’ ‘I Came For Blood,’ and ‘No,’ all driven by the incessant pounding of the tag team rhythm section of Damiel Sisson and Will Carroll.
Taking a break to come up for air, the band returned donning Santa hats and plenty of holiday swagger. A staple of the Death Angel Christmas show is to give their own twist to traditional holiday songs.
This year the victim (er…choice) was ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town,’’ which came complete with Santa, background singers, and Death Angel knocking it out of the park for all the holiday revelers in the crowd.
Ending the night by going back to the beginning with ‘Kill as One’ from The Ultra-Violence, the Great American Music Hall sang as one, chanting the lyrics and trying to match Osegueda’s piercing screams.
As the final notes hung in the air, Death Angel came to the front of the stage to slap hands and throw picks and sticks to the adoring metal heads. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good fucking night!!
Though this was an unforgettable night of holiday thrash that attendees will soon not forget, it did end slightly earlier than many would have liked. Though ending at 2AM would have likely still been too early for this crowd.
Opening for Death Angel on this very special evening of bay area thrash were fellow scene makers Vio-lence. This was the first time since 2001 that these two legendary SF bands were on the same bill.
Led by frontman Sean Killian’s scattershot punk delivery, Vio-lence tore through a short-set of punishing speed metal, highlighted by the brutal thrash of ‘Kill on Command’ and ‘World In a World’.
Vio-lence got the crowd rolling with their runaway train rhythms, head-spinning guitar work (hats off to Max Mayhem), and Killian’s commanding presence. It was a holiday glimpse into SF thrash past as youngsters got a small taste of what it was like to see the plethora of metal talent that graced city stages in the late 80s and early 90s.
