Away Team

For those who were either born too late or living in the wrong part of the world while music which has now become legendary was exploding from the Bay Area’s thrash metal scene in the early-to-mid 1980s, here’s your second chance to re-live history.

With a very special All Ages show marking the 10-year anniversary of former EXODUS singer Paul “Pavel” Baloff’s passing, “Bonded By Baloff: A Decade Of Remembrance” will take place at the Oakland Metro Operahouse on Saturday, February 4th, 2012 and features the evening’s headliners EXODUS plus POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, HEATHEN, and MAD AT SAM on the Main Stage. Playing the Second Stage are ANGERHEAD, MUDFACE, THE VENTING MACHINE, HELLFIRE, and HYSTERIA.

The evening is well on its way to being a SOLD-OUT event and may very well turn into the second installment of the recent Bazillion Points book Murder in the Front Row (which can be purchased here), so don’t miss out!

Of the event, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt has previously stated:
“[We] knew it was high time we do something special to remember the legend of Paul Baloff, so we decided to put together a show the Bay Area will not soon forget. There are some nice surprises in store as well! It will be ten years and two days since the thrash world lost one of its greatest frontmen ever, and we will always make sure his memory lives on and is never forgotten. Long live The Destroyer!”

Advanced tickets for “Bonded By Baloff: A Decade Of Remembrance” can be purchased at this location.

EXODUS, POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN and HEATHEN are among the bands who will perform at a special concert to mark the 10-year anniversary of former EXODUS singer Paul Baloff‘s passing. Dubbed “Bonded By Baloff: A Decade Of Remembrance“, the event will take place on Saturday, February 4, 2012 at the Oakland Metro Operahouse and will feature “a mind-blowing lineup that will rock your socks off!” according to a press release.

Scheduled performers:
Main Stage
EXODUS
POSSESSED
FORBIDDEN
HEATHEN
MAD AT SAM

Second Stage
ANGERHEAD
MUDFACE
THE VENTING MACHINE
HELLFIRE
HYSTERIA

You can purchase advance tickets at this location.

It was almost a decade ago — on January 31, 2002 — that Paul Baloff suffered a major stroke and was brought to Highland General Hospital in Northern California, where he remained in a coma until he was declared brain dead. On February 2, 2002, his doctors shut off his life support, leaving him to die in his sleep. He had no previous known health problems, and the stroke was a complete surprise to everyone around him.









For more EXODUS click here.

TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy has confirmed to Terrorizer that drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, EXODUS, FORBIDDEN) has left the band.

Bostaph was absent from the recording sessions for TESTAMENT‘s new album, “The Dark Roots Of Earth“, which will be released on April 27, 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records. The Dark Roots Of Earth features Gene Hoglan on drums because Paul has been out of action due to a “serious injury” and unable to record or tour.

Chuck explains that Paul has decided to step down permanently, leaving the band with the task of finding a new member.

“We just found out last week Paul Bostaph is not coming back to the band, he’s starting his own new project and doing some things on his own. So we’re actually going to be holding a couple of auditions with probably small group of drummers that we chose – we don’t want to have a revolving drum stool, we have a new record, we want a permanent drummer.”









For more TESTAMENT click here.

Craig Locicero, Russ Anderson, Matt Camacho, and Steve Smyth of the Bay Area thrash band FORBIDDEN are proud to make the following announcement:

“After a couple of grueling months of sifting through video auditions, we’ve finally got our man. Let it be known that on Halloween 2011, Sasha Horn from Chicago is FORBIDDEN’s new drummer!

“Now that we have our band back intact, we can start writing the next FORBIDDEN record with the confidence that we have something special once again. Like Bostaph, Jacobs, Hernandez and Hoglan, Sasha Horn will earn his praise and respect from our fans. He’s FORBIDDEN’s next great drummer and we are very proud to tell the world! We are truly inspired to out-do ourselves.”

New FORBIDDEN drummer Sasha Horn (ex-November’s Doom, Ava Inferi) comments:

“This was an amazing opportunity from the get-go, to be able to throw my name in on auditions for a band that I’ve been an avid fan of since I was 12 years-old. How does it feel to now get the chance to slay alongside them? Otherworldly. Truly out of this world. To just be considered along with the other amazing drummers from across the globe was a humbling experience in itself. And it’s because FORBIDDEN is a band that wants to constantly take leaps and bounds up to that next level that I know this is the perfect union. When we got into that room and played together for the first time, the chemistry just went right off of the charts. That’s a good feeling to start off with.”









For more FORBIDDEN click here.

Guitarist / founding member / songwriter Craig Locicero of the Bay Area thrash band FORBIDDEN has issued the following update:

“This has been the week of all weeks for FORBIDDEN highs and lows. It started with losing a drummer and cancelling an entire tour. Really low. But there has been a few silver linings as well.

“If you deserve to sit on the same throne as Paul Bostaph, Steve Jacobs, Mark Hernandez, and Gene Hoglan, you’d better get ready to bring it out in the open! As far as we’re concerned, those are 4 of the greatest drummers in Thrash Metal so give it your best shot! What are you drummers waiting for? Let’s see what you’ve got!”

Send a Dropbox, Fileblaze, or Mediablaze download link to: forbiddendrummer2011@gmail.com.

By sending in your submission, you are granting your consent to having your video file uploaded onto the FORBIDDEN Drummer 2011 YouTube channel and other social media sites for comments.

Make sure to include your name and contact information in your e-mail.

Visit FORBIDDEN’s YouTube Drummer Auditions channel here.

Guitarist / founding member / songwriter Craig Locicero of the Bay Area thrash band FORBIDDEN has issued the following update:

“This is the most painful update I have ever had to write…

“Looking forward, not back.…”

For more FORBIDDEN click here.

Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN, along with Decibel Magazine and Metal-Sucks.net, are happy to announce the bands second headlining run of North America! Joining them are tech-death thrashers REVOCATION, traditional heavy metal champions WHITE WIZZARD, and Colorado based thrash merchants HAVOK.

Guitarist Craig Locicero commented on the bands upcoming trek:
“FORBIDDEN is proud to announce our first proper headlining tour in 16 years throughout the North America this Summer! Finally! We will be bringing out REVOCATION, WHITE WIZZARD and HAVOK along for the fun. These bands are all hungry, cool and young guns and they will add to the excitement!
Something we witnessed last Winter was the economy crushing many tours. A lot of kids just can’t afford the ticket prices anymore. When we made the jump to the Pantheon Agency a few months ago, we made it clear that we wanted a reduced ticket price and all ages venues. That way all the fans of FORBIDDEN can afford to go and bring their friends of all ages along for a real Thrash experience! Well that is just what we’ve done. Ticket prices will be between $10-$15 ever where we play. Step one is complete!
Step two is the actual gigs themselves. We will be starting at the Whiskey in Hollywood on June 9th and then we head North into Canada for an extensive run into the East, South, Mid-West to eventually end the tour in San Diego on July 2nd. These will be raw, intimate and bare boned Thrash Metal shows. Exactly how we started it. How it was meant to be!
So tell your friends, grab your kids…whatever it takes. You are ALL invited to join us on this Omega Wave!”

DECIBEL & METAL-SUCKS present:
FORBIDDEN, REVOCATION, WHITE WIZZARD, HAVOK
06/09/11 The Whisky – Hollywood, CA
06/11/11 The Alley – Sparks, NV
06/12/11 Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
06/13/11 Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
06/14/11 Rickshaw Theater – Vancouver, BC – CANADA
06/15/11 Sapphire Nightclub – Kelowna, BC – CANADA
06/16/11 Pawn Shop – Edmonton, AB – CANADA
06/17/11 Riddell Centre – Regina, SK – CANADA
06/18/11 Royal Albert Arms – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA
06/20/11 Mad Planet – Milwaukee, WI
06/21/11 Reggie’s Rock Club – Chicago, IL
06/22/11 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
06/23/11 Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
06/24/11 Championship Bar and Grill (at The Backstage) – Trenton, NJ
06/25/11 AlRosa Villa – Columbus, OH
06/26/11 Fubar – St. Louis, MO
06/27/11 The Beaumont Club – Kansas City, MO
06/29/11 The Marquis Theatre – Denver, CO
06/30/11 Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM
07/01/11 The Clubhouse – Tempe, AZ
07/02/11 JT’s Limelight – Escondido, CA

FORBIDDEN 2010 features Russ Anderson on vocals, Craig Locicero on guitar, Steve Smyth on guitar, Matt Camacho on bass and Mark Hernandez on drums.









For more FORBIDDEN click here.

Canadian progressive metal icons VOIVOD are the latest acts confirmed for confirmed For 70000 Tons Of Metal, “The World’s Biggest Floating Heavy Metal Festival.”

Thus far, 35 out of 40 bands are confirmed: AGENT STEEL, AMON AMARTH, BLACKGUARD, BLIND GUARDIAN, CRIPPER, DARK TRANQUILLITY, DEATH ANGEL, ENSIFERUM, EPICA, EXODUS, FEAR FACTORY, FINNTROLL, FORBIDDEN, GAMMA RAY, ICED EARTH, KORPIKLAANI, MARDUK, MOONSPELL, NEVERMORE, OBITUARY, RAGE, RAVEN, ULI JON ROTH, SABATON, SANCTUARY, SAXON, SODOM, SONATA ARCTICA, SWASHBUCKLE, TESTAMENT, TROUBLE, TÝR, UNLEASHED, VOIVOD, WITCHBURNER.

70000 Tons Of Metal will sail Monday, January 24, 2011 aboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty Of The Seas from Miami, FL to Cozumel, Mexico and will not return you to the real world for four days until Friday, January 28, 2011.

Make no mistake, 70000 Tons Of Metal is not your grandma’s cruise. It’s also not one of the cruises that share the ship with normal cruise guests. This is an all heavy metal cruise! Can you imagine that? A whole luxury cruise ship full of metalheads? And since there is no backstage area you will have the opportunity to mingle side-by-side with the artists in this incredibly fan-friendly scenario that has no comparison. It’s like everyone has a backstage pass!

Ticket prices start at US$666 plus US$249 taxes and fees per person and include all on-board entertainment, all meals, non-alcoholic and non-carbonated beverages at the dining rooms, most on-board restaurants and 24 hour room service!

What are you waiting for? You might even need a vacation from this vacation when all is said and done! Check out 70000tons.com for more information and book your cabin now!

Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN are set to embark on their first tour in 15 years, this time as direct support to Overkill! Immediately proceeding the trek the band will continue on their own headlining tour with Evile, Gamma Bomb, and Bonded By Blood.

“It’s been 15 years since FORBIDDEN has actually toured in North America,“ commented an enthusiastic Craig Locicero. “That blows my fucking mind to say it! The funny thing is that even when we did tour here, we never properly did it. It was always a very short cycle with little or no support from the labels. Well, times have changed and so has FORBIDDEN‘s situation. With Nuclear Blast having our backs and properly promoting and supporting Omega Wave, I feel a sense of hope for this band that we have never felt before. Strange feeling, really. But we will take it.
Our goal is to get better every night and eventually become the live band that we never got to be. That takes dedication and a lot of hard work. We’re digging in commiting to just that.
We hope our fans will appreciate us as much as we appreciate them. See you all on the road soon!“

OVERKILL, FORBIDDEN, EVILE, GAMMA BOMB, BONDED BY BLOOD
11/11/10 Volume 11 – Raleigh, NC
11/13/10 Club Firestone – Orlando, FL
11/14/10 Culture Room – Ft Lauderdale, FL
11/15/10 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
11/16/10 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
11/17/10 Newport Music Hall – Columbus, OH
11/18/10 Diesel Nightclub – Pittsburgh, PA
11/19/10 Rocko’s – Manchester, NH
11/20/10 Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ

FORBIDDEN, EVILE, GAMMA BOMB, BONDED BY BLOOD
11/22/10 Foufounes Electriques – Montreal, QC – CANADA
11/23/10 MOD Club – Toronto, ON – CANADA
11/24/10 Blondies – Detroit, MI
11/26/10 Phoenix Hill Tavern – Louisville, KY
11/27/10 Reggie’s – Chicago, IL
11/28/10 The Rave – Milwaukee, WI
11/29/10 Station 4 – St Paul, MN
12/01/10 Scout Bar – San Antonio, TX
12/02/10 Emo’s – Austin, TX
12/03/10 Scout Bar – Houston, TX
12/06/10 The Rock – Tucson, AZ
12/07/10 U.B.’s – Mesa, AZ
12/08/10 Whiskey a Go Go – Hollywood, CA
12/09/10 Ramona Mainstage – Ramona, CA
12/10/10 New Oasis – Sparks, NV
12/11/10 DNA Lounge – San Francisco, CA

For more FORBIDDEN click here.

Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers, FORBIDDEN, will hold a free public listening party for their first record since reforming on Friday October 22, 2010 at Soundwave Studios in Oakland CA. The event will start at 9 pm and is located at 2200 Wood St. Fans will have a chance to get free swag, win a Fernandes bass guitar, and purchase the CD before it hits the streets. Members of FORBIDDEN will also be in attendance to sign autographs and meet the fans.

“We are all very excited about our new release, Omega Wave,” commented vocalist Russ Anderson. “Everyone involved with creating the record worked extremely hard. Now, we want to share it with our fans and friends! So anybody who wants to come out and celebrate with us is officially invited! We will also have plenty of Nuclear Blast and FORBIDDEN swag on hand for giveaways. Be a part of our special night and you may just win some free shit too!”

Omega Wave, FORBIDDEN’s fifth studio album after a 13-year recording hiatus, will be released in Europe on October 22nd and on October 26th in North America. It was recorded at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage Studios in Livermore, California, produced by FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero with Tim Narducci, and mixed by Sean Beavan (Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails).

To pre-order Omega Wave click here.
For more FORBIDDEN click here.

Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN have uploaded the track “Forsaken At The Gates” to their official MySpace page.

“’Forsaken At The Gates’ is FORBIDDEN‘s new thrash anthem for the 2010′s and beyond,” commented guitarist Craig Locicero. “If we could go back in a time machine to when we called it a day in 1997, there still would have been no way that we could have written ‘Forsaken…” back then. We needed the distance and hind-site to write this record and had to get a grip on what the hell FORBIDDEN was all about when we started. Our vision is clear. We are a Thrash Metal band! ‘Forsaken At The Gates’ says it all.
If I were to compare ‘Forsaken At The Gates’ to any of our old songs, it would be ‘March Into Fire’, which was one of the first songs that I’d ever written in my life. Ironically, ‘Forsaken…’ was the last song we’d written for Omega Wave. Funny how things work.
As far as the song itself, Mark was a fucking beast when we tracked it! I knew we had a monster on the first take, great energy and sense of urgency in his performance. It made one hell of a spine to connect all of the other moving parts to. Everyone blasted through their tracks with the same sense of urgency too. Playing those riffs, my blood pumps harder then in any other song I’ve played on. It was an intense session to track and Matt cruises through the entire thing like a bulldozer! The solo section brings me back to the good ‘ol days when trade-offs were all over the classic metal records we all love. I really love playing and writing with Steve, he makes me so much better and I think we make a great team.
After that, it’s Russ that’s next fucking level! Tim and I got him fired up and locked him behind the glass until he sounded as crazed as they lyrics are intended to convey. The song itself is about turning away the masses from the numerous underground shelters around the planet that will try to seek protection from any natural or unnatural disaster that would effect all of us on the surface.
The main line of the song says ‘Corpses laid out for the Rapture, New World Order buried in it’s tomb.’ In other words, if the surface isn’t worth living on and the powers that be decide who lives in a canned air bunker for future generations to come…let them rot down there, that’s not a world worth living in!”

Vocalist Russ Anderson added:
“Looking back on recording our first album Forbidden Evil and recording Omega Wave, there really is no comparison. During the recording of Forbidden Evil, we were in a time crunch and I sang the whole album in about one and a half days, impossible some could say, but true. I was happy with the results because that gave the album it’s rawness, that in my opinion goes down in history as true as a thrash album gets.
Omega Wave was a slower recording process. I worked with Craig and Tim as my right hand men and they know me. At times I think they were trying to ‘slap me around’ a little before the heavy songs like ‘Forsaken At The Gates’ to get me to approach the song with true aggression. You really should not be feeling love and flowers approaching a song like this, not to say that was what I was thinking, but it helps to bring out the aggression of the song through the vocals. ’Forsaken At The Gates’ was easier for me than some of the others, only because it was the last song I recorded and was done in one session.
By the time I was on the last of the songs I had a lot of fire to breathe and did not want to stop. ‘I love to record!’ As far as my voice being deeper or better, I don’t know, I tried to compliment each song and be one with it, and to do that, you must be one with your voice. That is something I have strived for over the years and hope it comes across.
I think that vocals can change or get better over time, like a fine wine, for instance if you listen back to James Hetfield when he did Kill ‘Em All he most defiantly has a more adolescent voice than, on say …And Justice For All. Vocals are touchy things and definitely unpredictable from day to day . The only way I have found to have any control over it is to approach every song with its intended emotion which is also the key to a good performance no matter how your voice is holding up that day. Point being, it’s a human instrument that mirrors the soul .
I truly gave it my all on Omega Wave and I hope everyone will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed recording it . Hope to see you all on our United States tour that kicks off on the East Coast November 4th, ending on the West Coast on December 11th, 2010.
Thank you in advance to those that support FORBIDDEN and buy the album.”

Omega Wave, FORBIDDEN’s fifth studio album after a 13-year recording hiatus, will be released in Europe on October 22nd and on October 26th in North America. It was recorded at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage Studios in Livermore, California, produced by FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero with Tim Narducci, and mixed by Sean Beavan (Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails).

For more FORBIDDEN click here.

Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN have debuted the artwork to their new studio album, Omega Wave, on their official MySpace page.

FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero checks in about his collaborative process with artist Kent Mathieu, the visual elements that can be found in the album’s artwork, and his concern for the future of the human race:

“As soon as FORBIDDEN committed to writing a new record, I wondered where Kent Mathieu was. I’d always felt like Forbidden Evil and Twisted Into Form were pretty iconic album covers… when things like that actually seemed to matter.
“Then, the good people at Nuclear Blast actually located Kent! I got pretty excited and reached out to him immediately. He was equally excited to hear from us, too. The only real direction I gave Kent was to somehow tie the past into the future. Find a way to make the two skulls [from Forbidden Evil’s artwork] vital again. He had worked up about 12 sketches all kinds of variously cool stuff. Out of all of the pictures he sent me, I liked the way one of them was laid out because of it’s simplicity. After thinking about it for a long while, I had a concept for Kent to work with. The Omega Wave concept. The title wasn’t decided until I had a good idea for the cover.
“I don’t want to over-explain the actual picture because there is enough symbolism for everyone to interpret everything differently. That is always a plus, in my book. What I can tell you is that the skull in the center is based upon the crystal skull of Belize. This skull was found at some of the pyramid ruins in two perfect pieces, jawbone and upper cranium. It was always quite a mystery, but some years later Hewlett Packard scientists did extensive tests on the skull and found many anomalies.
“One of them was that there is no way, even with our most modern technology, that we could cut into the crystal the way this skull was formed. It would shatter with any instrument we have available, even today. Another thing was the fact that no matter what temperature the skull was placed in, the skull’s temperature would stay almost exactly the same. Scientists even believe the skull holds information that they could not tap into, like a giant computer chip with an impenetrable code.
“So I got to thinking: Does this skull – and the other ones found throughout the most ancient places on Earth – hold something that we would need to know to possibly save ourselves? This is not an entirely new concept, but it hit me pretty hard. What could we learn about ourselves that may save us at this all-important juncture for the human race?
“It seems as if we’ve reached our Omega stage as a civilization. Meaning, we as people seem to be in a hurry to reach some sort of ending… possibly all self-manifested by accepting some sort of pre-determined fate. Or possibly just pawns in a game that was played out before and will be repeated again and again in other times and dimensions. So Omega Wave is part science fact and part from my imagination.
“Kent Mathieu is a artistic genius who created something that respects this concept, as well as FORBIDDEN’s past, present and future! All of this with one very strong hand-painted picture. That’s right, no computer manipulation whatsoever. Something else we can all be proud of! We hope you approve.”

Omega Wave, FORBIDDEN’s fifth studio album after a 13-year recording hiatus, will be released in Europe on October 22nd and on October 26th in North America. It was recorded at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage Studios in Livermore, California, produced by FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero with Tim Narducci, and mixed by Sean Beavan (Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails).

FORBIDDEN 2010 features Russ Anderson on vocals, Craig Locicero on guitar, Steve Smyth on guitar, Matt Camacho on bass and Mark Hernandez on drums.

Song titles on Omega Wave include:
•Alpha Century
•Forsaken At The Gates
•Swine
•Immortal Wounds
•Hopenosis
•Adapt Or Die
•Inhuman Race
•Behind The Mask
•Dragging My Casket
•Overthrow
•Omega Wave

FORBIDDEN are confirmed for January 2011’s 70,000 Tons Of Metal cruise and will tour the U.S. this November supporting Overkill with Evile, Gamma Bomb, and Bonded By Blood.

FORBIDDEN will go on to headline their own tour with Evile, Gamma Bomb, and Bonded By Blood from November 22nd – December 11th. VIP tickets for pre-show Meet & Greet sessions with the band are now on sale at EnterTheVault.com. VIP ticket buyers will also receive a customized poster signed by the band.

Hear two FORBIDDEN demo tracks, “Adapt Or Die” and “Hopenosis,” and the entire Green album here.

For more FORBIDDEN click here.

Members of METALLICA, MACHINE HEAD, DEATH ANGEL, FORBIDDEN, SKINLAB and D.R.I., as well as former members of EXODUS, OVERKILL, S.O.D., POSSESSED, SACRILEGE B.C. and STEREOMUD, are among the musicians who made an appearance at a special event to celebrate the life of Debbie Abono, a well-respected and much-loved manager and promotional machine behind some of San Francisco Bay Area’s strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, SKINLAB), who passed away on May 16 after a battle with cancer. She was 80 years old.

According to an obituary published in the Contra Costa Times on May 30, 2010, “Debbie was in her mid-fifties when she plunged into the Bay Area’s heavy metal/thrash metal music scene. She quickly [started working with] some of the Bay Area’s strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, VIO-LENCE, EXODUS, SKINLAB) as well as Chicago’s BROKEN HOPE, Florida’s OBITUARY and CYNIC, Ohio’s SPUDMONSTERS, and from Texas SKREW. Many of these members who have gone onto further success with their careers with Debbie‘s constant guidance. She is known around the world not only for the work she has done for countless musicians, band crew members and their families, but more so for her heart and generosity and her ability to uplift, motivate and empower all those around her to always be honest and to be their best.

“After recently learning that Debbie was gravely ill, James Hetfield of METALLICA, another Bay Area legend, gave a verbal tribute before singing the hit song ‘Nothing Else Matters‘ at a performance in Belfast, Ireland. Alex Skolnick, guitarist for TESTAMENT, posted the following statement: ‘In the mid-1980s when most folks over forty were afraid of metal, there was Debbie Abono, a kind, sophisticated woman in her 50s. She saw right through the pentagrams, upside-down crosses, leather and spikes and recognized that some kind souls lay underneath the anger reflected much younger, often-misunderstood group of metalheads and became manager to some of the heaviest bands. By doing so, she helped us realize that older people weren’t so bad either.’ TESTAMENT also dedicated the song ‘Alone In The Dark‘ [to Debbie] during the band’s May 16, 2010 performance in Enschede, Netherlands.”

Debbie‘s love for music from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin through METALLICA and MACHINE HEAD inspired her to set up a music scholarship through Mechanics Bank.

Donations can be made through this web site and via check payable to “East Bay Community Foundation” and should be accompanied by a note designating that the gift is for the Debbie Abono Memorial Fund for Music. Contributions should be mailed to The East Bay Community Foundation, Attn: Giles Miller, 200 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612.

The Bay Area Thrash Scene of the early 80’s has been well documented. The most successful metal band of all time, Metallica, helped define it’s sound, and give San Francisco it’s second major music ‘scene’ (the first being the flower power, hippy, acid rock scene of the 60’s). Bands like Testament, Exodus, Death Angel, Possessed, Heathen, and Vio-lence where at the forefront of the new scene.
Death Angel released three albums to much critical acclaim and built a very strong following. With the release of ACT III the band seemed poised to jump from a well known underground band to commercial success, but a bus accident at the beginning of the tour cycle sidelined the band with injuries, and they eventually separated in 1991. Fast forward ten years to Thrash Of The Titans a benefit for Chuck Billy, the singer of Testament, who was diagnosed with throat cancer. Many of the ‘old school’ Bay Area Thrash bands united and reunited for this epic event and cause. Death Angel was reborn with a new guitarist and due in part to the crowd response, and the persistence of a record label, Nuclear Blast, the band decided to hit the road and actually record an album. The last 9 years has seen three new albums, several successful tours, and a resurgence of the Bay Area old school Thrash Scene.
Ted Aguilar has been with Death Angel now since the Thrash Of The Titans show in 2001. And while the band was on tour with Soilwork this summer, I chatted with Ted Aguilar after their Raleigh, North Carolina show (and heated Galaga video game match!) about Death Angel, a proposed tour of China, the first ever ‘metal’ themed cruise ship, the soon to be released Relentless Retribution (September 14th on Nuclear Blast), what it feels like to be starring three years of non stop touring straight in the face, and how he was able to take the stage at Thrash of the Titans after only two rehearsals with the band (‘fuckin’ nervous man, fuckin’ nervous!’ was his response)

AWAY TEAM: This is ‘Slim’ Jim Keller with Awayteam.com and I’m sitting here with Ted Aguilar from Death Angel. I want to thank you very much for taking time out again for this interview. Congratulations on the soon to be released 6th studio album from Death Angel entitled Relentless Retribution.

TED AGUILAR: Yes!

AWAY TEAM: So how long have you been with Death Angel?

TED AGUILAR: Nine years now this is my 3rd album with them.

AWAY TEAM: Ok so when they reformed…

TED AGUILAR: Yeah I’ve been with them since Thrash of the Titans.

AWAY TEAM: What brought you on board to Death Angel? They reformed for the benefit for Chuck Billy called the Thrash of the Titans and it was the first time that they’d gotten together in eleven years to perform and so how did you end up in the band?

TED AGUILAR: Actually, I’ve known the guys for a long time even back in the 80’s. I’d been to majority of all their hometown shows from Ultra-Violence until Act III. And when the band started to reform I guess everyone was into it except Gus (Pepa) the other rhythm guitar player. And I mean he just wasn’t into it, he was in the Philippines at the time he just basically checked out of music, well heavy music in general. I’d known Rob (Cavestany), and Rob gave me a call and said, ‘Hey man you want to do it? Gus can’t do it.’ and at first I was like, ‘Are you SURE?’ I don’t wanna step on anybody’s toes since Death Angel was more of a family unit. He goes, ‘Nope Gus can’t do it.’ So in 2 rehearsals I had to learn all the songs on my own and you know I jammed out with some individuals just to kinda get some ideas of the structures of the song. We did 2 rehearsals like 2 days before Thrash of the Titans and boom did the show. It was fun man. I was nervous as a motherfucker though I’ll tell you! But it was fun.

AWAY TEAM: Kind of a big stage to take on for your first with only 2 rehearsals under your belt

TED AGUILAR: Two rehearsals and its Death Angel’s first gig in 11 years! You gotta be on your game! I was nervous as a motherfucker. These guys know the songs inside out I mean they grew up writing it so it was like second nature to them.

AWAY TEAM: So what were you doing before you got the call?

TED AGUILAR: I just played in a couple local bands nothing really big, just jamming around with friends and local bands just played around the Bay Area. And my band played with Rob and Mark’s (Osegueda) band Swarm at the time. We did a few local gigs together and that’s how I guess I got the gig. They never actually told me I was in the band they go ‘You wanna jam?’ and 9 years later here I am today man!

AWAY TEAM: Still waiting to sign the contract right!

TED AGUILAR: I’m still waiting! I didn’t even get a handshake! Put it that way.

AWAY TEAM: So your first album with Death Angel was Art of Dying. What was it at that show or shortly after that they decided or you all decided you should reform properly and actually do something with this?

TED AGUILAR: Well that show was supposed to be a one-off. I mean from what the guys told me Death Angel wasn’t meant to reform, they were just done. They went out on a high note of Act III and they started doing other various projects as The Organization, Swarm, Silver Circus and Big Shrimp and all that stuff. Right after we did Thrash of the Titans… I loved it, and the rest of the guys just felt the overwhelmingness of the crowd. Just very into the band. We didn’t realize how much Death Angel was missed. So after that show there was other offers coming about and I guess we decided let’s just do one more round of touring put out a live album and that’s it, call it a day. But as soon as we went to Europe the crowd was just amazing! The first time we went there we headlined the F&R in 2002 July of 2002 I believe then we did the Dynamo Festival and those shows are just like, ‘Holy Shit!’ I mean metal is big in Europe and again we didn’t realize how much fans around the world missed Death Angel. And we did that and went back out on the road again we got this offer to do two weeks in Europe on a festival with Testament. Nuclear Blast started coming around offering us you know… they wanted to sign us without even hearing new songs! They just loved the band, loved the legacy, ‘we’ll sign you!’ So from there on we just said well let’s give it a shot we did and we released Art Of Dying, we released Killing Season, now we’re going to release Relentless Retribution and it’s been a great ride and we still got more to conquer! More to conquer!

AWAY TEAM: Well you’re currently on tour with Soilwork, Swashbuckle and Mutiny Within; I saw maybe 5 dates left after tonight, what’s next?

TED AGUILAR: After this we’re going to go home and kinda hang out with family real quick. Just hang out and chill, then the album comes out as you know September 14th, everyone go out and get it!

AWAY TEAM: On Nuclear Blast. Find it on Nuclear Blast; pre-order it now you get a T-shirt with it…

TED AGUILAR: There you go! And there’s gonna be there’s a limited DVD too. It’s the making of the record which I kinda filmed, directed, and produced the whole thing. I had someone else edit it. It’s the making of the record from the first riff all the way until the last riff and into the recording studio and whatnot. And September we’re going to do the Mezcal Metalfest the last week of September with Twisted Sister, Destruction, God Forbid, and Obituary. Then in October we’re going to South America for the first time which we’re really excited about then we come back in November. December we’re going out to Europe with Kreator, Exodus, and Suicidal Angels and that’s going to be a thrash fest festival across Europe! Come back for the holidays then in the new year we pick up at that 70,000 ton metal cruise we’re doing with Testament, Forbidden, Exodus, Fear Factory, Uli Roth, Trouble, Swashbuckle, so many bands! Then right after that we start our headlining U.S. tour and who knows what’s going to come after that. I know next summer we still have to do the major European festivals so relentless touring, relentless touring.

AWAY TEAM: So springtime we should see you back in the States then on the road…

TED AGUILAR: Around springtime yeah around there.

AWAY TEAM: Early summer before the European festivals kick in?

TED AGUILAR: Yeah then go back to Europe for the summer festivals then maybe come back in the fall too. Relentless touring! Who knows? But that’s the plan.

AWAY TEAM: On this album you have two new musicians (Damien Sissom – bass, Will Carroll – drums) on it, has that changed how you guys write?

TED AGUILAR: Well it definitely changed this time around because we have a new rhythm section. Andy Galeon and Dennis Pepa are no longer with the band due to personal and family obligations. They couldn’t go out on tour basically so we got a new rhythm section and when we got them, before we even started writing a record, we went out on tour with them. Just played the old songs and we noticed they have a thrashier element. So it was kinda good to go out on the road with them and play some of the old songs and get a feel of what’s going on. I’ve known Damien and Will for awhile, I’ve played with them, so I know what their vibe is about. But it was good in a sense for Rob and Mark because it’s probably the first time in Death Angel history they got to jam with somebody who are not family, somebody totally new. So when we came to writing the album Rob kinda knew what styles Will played, he knew Will’s a thrash drummer, basically like full on thrash drummer, Damien’s a thrash bass player but with a sense of like, ala Cliff Burton, Steve Harris, all those great players. So Rob wrote accordingly to that. The band’s been through a lot of ups and downs in the past couple of years losing members and a lot of personal things going on internally and externally. So all that influence and jamming with new people helped create this record which is the most aggressive and thrashiest record since Ultra-Violence. You know a lot of double bass a lot of fast parts and it feels like a new band. When you listen to the record, for us, it seemed like a new band getting its first record deal, excited! Just going out there again you know? It’s kinda like they helped bring that excitement back which was kinda tapering off with Dan and Andy because they just weren’t into it any more. You can’t really force anybody to be into something when they’re not. And it was really hard for the band because those guys had been with the band since the inception and a lot of fans are like, ‘Oh man! What’re they gonna do?’ But this album’s going to really prove that Death Angel can go on and we’re happy about that.

AWAY TEAM: That’s one thing I’d noticed with the Art of Dying and Killing Season. Act III to most fans out there was the ‘be all end all’ Death Angel album and it was probably the most diverse out of the three original albums, very funky, a lot of different styles woven through the basic Bay Area Thrash sound and with the Art of Dying & Killing Season and what little bit I’ve heard of Relentless Retribution it’s like you have gone more towards the straightforward thrash. Is that more angry or just…

TED AGUILAR: It’s a combination of things. I mean it was intentionally to do that and two it was like I said we’d gone through a lot in the past couple of years so all that vibe went into that, and Rob being the sole the chief writer on this one. Art of Dying was good you know it got our feet wet with the band discovering themselves again because it’d been a long time. Killing Season was a great record where everyone like pretty much honed in, but then again, like I’d said in the past couple of years there was tension within the band of collaborating. I mean collaboration is good sometimes you know and it works well when it works well and the past couple of years with everyone it was hard in a sense. And when everyone collaborated it made Death Angel, but this one was more Rob wrote everything. I mean he had the ideas, he had the thing, there was no fighting, there was no pushing and pulling. It wasn’t like, ‘No this has to be that way!’ ‘No this is that way!’ Rob had so much ideas, and so much to let out, that with our new rhythm section and we heard what Rob was writing and we’d go, ‘that’s it!’ You know he was feeling it, he had all this vibe and ideas, we just ran with it. It was easier for Rob to write. There was no pushing and pulling, he had everything, we just added to what he did. It’s like I said being a band, being in a first band, someone forms a band, ‘I got all these songs let’s do it, let’s do it, let’s do it!’ And when it came to the lyrics, Mark wrote the majority of the lyrics. There’s 12 songs on the record. Mark wrote 9 of them and Rob wrote the other 3 and it’s a heartfelt record. Mark finally got to release. Mark had a lot… you know we all went through a lot of stuff. We were all able to release, and that’s why the record’s more thrashy, more aggressive. It was purposely done that way. Along with the fact of what we went through, so we’re stoked about it. We’re just stoked. And it still has Death Angel elements in there. It doesn’t have the sing-along’s like some stuff on Act III, but there’s melody. It’s just aggressive melody. Who knows how well this album does. We could go on the road even longer. That’s something we want to do. It’s something a proper band should do. And that’s something we never got to do with Art of Dying and Killing Season. Due to the fact that a couple of the guys in the band either didn’t want to tour… we get booked a tour and go ‘I can do that first half but not the second half’ it’s like we gotta do it all! But now that those roadblocks are not there we are able to just tour and we need to tour to promote the record and to get in people’s faces. A lot of people want to see us live and they don’t want to wait 4 years for us to come by. So we want to keep comin’ and coming around.

AWAY TEAM: Yeah I’m getting tired of driving 5 hours to see you guys!

TED AGUILAR: Yes yes yes! We want to keep touring a lot so we can hit other markets where people don’t have to travel to. We’re hitting these markets where people have to travel because we haven’t come around a lot. The more we come around we can hit other territories. The word gets out ‘hey come over here instead of over there’. Cool. You know maybe hit your town so you don’t have to drive!

AWAY TEAM: So you’re doing South America and with the European festivals you’re hitting a lot of Europe, what is probably like the one market or the one place you guys haven’t played that you want to?

TED AGUILAR: Oh South America, one. Central America, probably want to go to Africa. I’ve heard they have shows in Africa. Morocco, Sepultura just did Morocco, they had a couple festivals in like Dubai. We’ve done the Philippines which is great awesome and …

AWAY TEAM: How are you guys accepted there?

TED AGUILAR: Great!

AWAY TEAM: I think you and Journey ‘cuz of their new lead singer…

TED AGUILAR: Yeah yeah!

AWAY TEAM: You guys are pretty much the favored children of the Philippines.

TED AGUILAR: Pretty much yeah! Well Journey more than us! We were accepted really well and the fans were awesome the people there were awesome. We want to go back to Japan, we’ve been to Japan, but I know there’s other territories. There’s talks of Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and you know Hawaii… There’s so many places, it’s just trying to get out there. It is hard but we’ll play everywhere where it’s feasible. If we can get out there without losing it, losing our asses, we’ll play! We’ll definitely play.

AWAY TEAM: In the age of downloading, you guys unfortunately don’t make a lot money anymore on the actual album sales. Labels and no offense to Nuclear Blast and some other great labels out there but the big labels we’ll say are slowly but surely crumbling. And if they don’t change their business model then they’re not going to exist in the next few years. Can you still exist and can you make a good living doing this full time?

TED AGUILAR: If you play your cards right!

AWAY TEAM: It’s about being in your blood and wanting to play. That’s one thing. But being able to survive in today’s market…

TED AGUILAR: A lot of bands seem to do it, I mean a lot of younger bands. Thing is to tour one, merchandise of course, you can download music but you can’t download a shirt. And we get people go ‘oh I’ve seen your YouTube performances’ great! And they come out to see us. Yeah you can see it on YouTube, but it’s not the same as going to a live show. Downloading does hurt and I’ve talked to people in bands and labels, it hurts but you gotta embrace the internet. I see it as touring, your merchandise, and just playing your cards right, and just embracing the internet. Don’t kind of shun it, it’s there, it’s not going away. The days of making money off platinum records seems to be over. Not even pop artists sell as much as they used to but…

AWAY TEAM: Which is good actually!

TED AGUILAR: Well in a sense, but for bands like us we gotta go out and tour. And the live show’s where people really see us. And the more we tour the more merch you sell or whatever and just gotta keep going. Putting out records cause the diehards will buy the records and in this day and age you got people like me and you who still buy records. The newer generations don’t seem to, a lot of the hardcore scene people kinda like download, but a lot of metal kids that I talk to, that I meet, have bought CDs and vinyl and want to sign it. So that’s good that they’re buying it. But it’s just touring and word of mouth the old school way.

AWAY TEAM: Well, used to be when you’re starting out you lived on the road. You lived in the back of a van and you toured incessantly just to get your name out there. Now you have to tour incessantly to put money in your pocket! As you get older it really starts to wear on you more, how do you keep up the intensity? Because you guys put on a phenomenal show! Like I was telling Mark (Osegueda – singer) before we started the interview, I’ve been following this band since ’87. I’m from the Bay Area originally and there was a high school radio station KVHS that played metal, and that’s all they played! That was my introduction to Death Angel in ’87. They played the Ultra-Violence and I was hooked instantly. I’ve seen you guys live, since you got back together, I’ve seen you probably 5, 6 times. And they are just amazing shows! And the intensity on that stage whether it’s a huge room or a very small room, you guys just slay. How do you keep up that level of intensity and that energy night after night being on the road for say another 2 years now?

TED AGUILAR: One we try to stay healthy eat right on the road a lot of us exercise a lot you know

AWAY TEAM: And a lot of Galaga!

TED AGUILAR: And a lot of Galaga!! We exercise a lot, we watch what we eat basically, and we’re not excessive drinkers. We don’t do drugs, an occasional puff here and there with the guys. Who doesn’t? It’s basically just really taking care of yourself. Plus when we play the songs that we play we’re just so into it, it just makes us go crazy night after night whether it’s a small crowd or a big crowd. We throw out the energy and the crowd throws it back at us. We love to do it, we love to go out there and perform. People come to see a show we’re going to give you a show! Plus we’re from the old school, where we go to a show and fuckin’ Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, old Metallica, all those bands they put on a show. KISS for example! So we kinda like are influenced by that, but how do we do it? We just rest, exercise, and try to work out and be cautious of intake.

AWAY TEAM: Well I thank you very much it’s been a pleasure again thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule

TED AGUILAR: No problem man thank you

AWAY TEAM: Good luck with Relentless Retribution and the next 16 months on the road and hopefully we’ll see you again in Raleigh in the spring.

TED AGUILAR: Raleigh or wherever you live! Hopefully you know the more we tour, and if the record gets pretty successful which we hope… Countin’ on you guys to buy it so we can hit more than just one city per state you know? So everyone can come out, we’re into it! Hope you’re into it too. Relentless Retribution September 14th via Nuclear Blast GO BUY IT! Come see the shows!

Thank you to Ted Aguilar for the time he took out of his Galaga match to sit and talk with me, Francois for ensuring the interview happened, Charles at Nuclear Blast for setting it up, and Melissa for her great transcription services as always.

Relentless Retribution can be pre-ordered here.

For more DEATH ANGEL click here.

Photos courtesy of Barry Knain

MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn has recorded audio and video of an acoustic cover of BLACK SABBATH‘s “Die Young” song from the classic “Heaven and Hell” album for free download in tribute to the late Debbie Abono, who sadly passed away on the same day as legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio. In a statement made at the beginning of the video (which was recorded the day after Debbie‘s passing and which can be viewed at this location), Robb says, “I don’t know why I recorded this song, it doesn’t really have relevance to Debbie or Dio, but I was sad and depressed and it was the only thing that made sense in the world.”

There are no plans to officially release Flynn‘s version of “Die Young“, but an MP3 version of the track is available for free download at the MACHINE HEAD web site.

Debbie Abono, a well-respected and much-loved manager and promotional machine behind some of San Francisco Bay Area’s strongest metal bands (POSSESSED, FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, VIO-LENCE, SKINLAB), passed away on May 16 at approximately 9:59 a.m. PST after a battle with cancer. She was 80 years old.

According to David Konow, author of the “Bang Your Head: The Rise And Fall Of Heavy Metal“, Debbie Abono was in her mid-fifties when she began to manage a band named POSSESSED. Abono started taking her daughters to MOTÖRHEAD shows, where the members of POSSESSED first asked her to manage the band. “There’s nothing to it,” they told her. “All you gotta do is get us shows.” Abono agreed and even allowed them to practice at her house.

POSSESSED‘s association with Debbie Abono was not a “first” for both sides: Debra Abono worked with LaLonde and Becerra’s “Blizzard” while they were sophomores in high school even — before they guys learned to drive. Abono would then become the band’s first manager, and POSSESSED were Abono’s first official managed band. Abono had no previous connection to heavy metal music other than as a concert designated driver for her daughters, one of whom was a girlfriend of guitarist Larry LaLonde. Due to generation gap, Abono also had limited awareness of the sometimes blasphemous themes of heavy metal, and was allegedly offended upon reading the lyric sheet of “Seven Churches“. Nevertheless, she agreed to manage and represent POSSESSED as long as bassist/vocalist Jeff Becerra and LaLonde finished high school commitments. Although the group’s relationship amongst themselves and their first manager would reach points of discord and eventual termination, Abono would go on to manage additional bands in the Bay Area metal scene like EXODUS, VIO-LENCE and FORBIDDEN EVIL (pre-FORBIDDEN), as well as death metal bands like Chicago’s BROKEN HOPE and Florida’s CYNIC and OBITUARY.

In a May 17 statement regarding Debbie Abono‘s passing, Flynn said, “Yesterday was a very sad day for metal.
“I am devastated at the passing of Debbie Abono and words aren’t coming very clear for me right now.
“Debbie was like a second mom to me, and having never lost a family member yet, this is very difficult.
“Debbie managed VIO-LENCE [Flynn's pre-MACHINE HEAD band], and toured with us in a van as manager, tour manager, mom, friend, and facilitator. Phil [Demmel; current MACHINE HEAD and former VIO-LENCE guitarist] and I were her roommates at crummy Motel 6′s across America.
“Thinking back on it now, touring with a bunch of snot-nosed thrash metal-ers for two months at a time in a van, playing crummy clubs, isn’t the usual course most 55-year-old ladies take in their lives, but she was no ordinary 55-year-old lady. She was fiery, feisty, charming, funny, and could look a person over in about two seconds and find something to joke about / roast them about should they wanted to test her.
“She was one of the biggest forces behind the thrash and early-death-metal movements than I think most people will ever realize.
“I dated her daughter Gina, and I lived at her house in Pinole on and off in my late teens, and even after Gina and I broke up, she gave me an incredible amount of belief and advice once MACHINE HEAD started.
“My wife Genevra and I used to go out to dinner with her fairly regularly, especially before kids, and she was there the next day after my boys were born. She always came to our parties.
“She was so proud of what we accomplished. Most importantly, she believed in me, even right up until the end.
“The last time we spoke, she told me how much she loved me, and that ‘my money is on Robb Flynn.’
“Fuck. What the fuck. I’m crying.
“Rest in peace, Debbie.”

“> this location