Dark Angel for Tech/Extreme Prog

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Dark Angel is a technical thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. It is perhaps best known as the place where legendary metal drummer Gene Hoglan got his start, although Hoglan does not actually appear on the band's first album. However, by the time he joined the band, he began to dominate its sound almost instantly. The band is also known for its nickname "The L.A. Caffeine Machine" and its motto "Too Fast, My Ass".
The band's first album, 1985's We Have Arrived, is fairly straightforward thrash metal with little hint of what was to come. 1986's Darkness Descends is the band's first album with Hoglan and is regarded as a thrash metal classic. It is not as progressive as the band's later material, but does feature the eight-minute "Black Prophecies", which goes through several musical shifts throughout its running time.

The band's third album, 1988's Leave Scars, is where they really began to stretch out and incorporate prog influence on their material. Five of the album's nine songs are at least seven minutes in length. The band also began to address more serious and controversial subject matter, leaving behind the more stereotypical metal lyrics of their earlier material. Leave Scars is the band's most commercially successful release. It's also their most popular album on the Metal Archives, for whatever that's worth (probably not much, considering they refuse to consider bands like Between the Buried and Me and Converge as metal bands).

The band's fourth album, 1991's Time Does Not Heal, is widely regarded as a landmark in progressive thrash metal, as well as one of the last truly classic thrash metal albums. Only one of the album's nine songs is below six minutes in length, and only three are below seven. The album famously bore a sticker saying that it features 246 riffs. I haven't counted them, but this is entirely believable. The songs feature a technicality and complexity that puts many other landmarks of progressive thrash, including Metallica's ...And Justice for All and Megadeth's Rust in Peace, to shame. The band was also praised for its lyrics on this album, particularly those of "An Ancient Inherited Shame", which addresses the trauma experienced by survivors of sexual assault in an uncannily psychologically accurate manner. This album alone, in my opinion, is a strong argument that they should have a place on the Archives, although Leave Scars also helps to bolster their case.

The band split up after the release of Time Does Not Heal, but has reunited sporadically over the years. The most recent reunion seems to have stuck, and the band is currently working on a new album. Metal fans the world over have rejoiced.

I was surprised that apparently this band has never even been mentioned on the Archives' forums before (if they have, I can't find them). They're regarded as one of the core technical/progressive thrash metal bands, and Time Does Not Heal in particular is definitely worth a listen for fans of the heavier strains of prog metal.

I can't find them on Bandcamp, but at least some of their albums are on YouTube. Here are Leave Scars and Time Does Not Heal.

Edited by CassandraLeo - May 22 2016 at 15:55

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CassandraLeo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: November 20 2014 Location: Sarasota, FL Status: Offline Points: 22	Topic: Dark Angel for Tech/Extreme Prog Posted: May 22 2016 at 15:47
	Dark Angel is a technical thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. It is perhaps best known as the place where legendary metal drummer Gene Hoglan got his start, although Hoglan does not actually appear on the band's first album. However, by the time he joined the band, he began to dominate its sound almost instantly. The band is also known for its nickname "The L.A. Caffeine Machine" and its motto "Too Fast, My Ass". The band's first album, 1985's We Have Arrived, is fairly straightforward thrash metal with little hint of what was to come. 1986's Darkness Descends is the band's first album with Hoglan and is regarded as a thrash metal classic. It is not as progressive as the band's later material, but does feature the eight-minute "Black Prophecies", which goes through several musical shifts throughout its running time. The band's third album, 1988's Leave Scars, is where they really began to stretch out and incorporate prog influence on their material. Five of the album's nine songs are at least seven minutes in length. The band also began to address more serious and controversial subject matter, leaving behind the more stereotypical metal lyrics of their earlier material. Leave Scars is the band's most commercially successful release. It's also their most popular album on the Metal Archives, for whatever that's worth (probably not much, considering they refuse to consider bands like Between the Buried and Me and Converge as metal bands). The band's fourth album, 1991's Time Does Not Heal, is widely regarded as a landmark in progressive thrash metal, as well as one of the last truly classic thrash metal albums. Only one of the album's nine songs is below six minutes in length, and only three are below seven. The album famously bore a sticker saying that it features 246 riffs. I haven't counted them, but this is entirely believable. The songs feature a technicality and complexity that puts many other landmarks of progressive thrash, including Metallica's ...And Justice for All and Megadeth's Rust in Peace, to shame. The band was also praised for its lyrics on this album, particularly those of "An Ancient Inherited Shame", which addresses the trauma experienced by survivors of sexual assault in an uncannily psychologically accurate manner. This album alone, in my opinion, is a strong argument that they should have a place on the Archives, although Leave Scars also helps to bolster their case. The band split up after the release of Time Does Not Heal, but has reunited sporadically over the years. The most recent reunion seems to have stuck, and the band is currently working on a new album. Metal fans the world over have rejoiced. I was surprised that apparently this band has never even been mentioned on the Archives' forums before (if they have, I can't find them). They're regarded as one of the core technical/progressive thrash metal bands, and Time Does Not Heal in particular is definitely worth a listen for fans of the heavier strains of prog metal. I can't find them on Bandcamp, but at least some of their albums are on YouTube. Here are Leave Scars and Time Does Not Heal. Edited by CassandraLeo - May 22 2016 at 15:55
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aapatsos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 11 2005 Location: Manchester, UK Status: Offline Points: 9226	Posted: May 22 2016 at 15:54
	Hi and welcome to PA! I am a bit surpised by your suggestion, since Dark Angel are everywhere referred to (and quite rightly in my opinion) as thrash metal. I cannot recall any resemblance whatsoever to prog rock/metal. Can you point us to specific tracks you consider progressive please?

CassandraLeo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Newbie Joined: November 20 2014 Location: Sarasota, FL Status: Offline Points: 22	Posted: May 22 2016 at 16:04
	Thanks. The entire Time Does Not Heal album (with the possible exception of the last song, which is a somewhat more straightforward rocker in the tradition of Metallica's album closers on their first four albums) is extremely progressive, in my opinion, while Leave Scars is fairly progressive. The best examples are probably "Psychosexuality" and "An Ancient Inherited Shame", both of which are around nine minutes long and go through a baffling number of structural changes throughout their running time. Darkness Descends is definitely an old-school thrash metal album for most of its running time, but it's extremely common for TDNH to be referred to as progressive thrash. Wikipedia probably isn't the most convincing source, but here are reviews from Allmusic and Ultimate Guitar. This biography also notes the progressiveness of TDNH, and for whatever it's worth (again, probably not much), "progressive thrash metal" is one of the top tags for the album on last.fm. I suspect the only reason "progressive" isn't more frequently attached to the band in general is that they're generally best known in the metal underground for Darkness Descends. Anyway, thrash is certainly the most defining characteristic of DA's music, but prog isn't too far behind on their last two albums, especially TDNH. It's one of the most technical and complex albums of the entire thrash metal genre in many fashions - structure, use of unusual harmonic elements, rhythmic complexity, list goes on. If bands like Demilich and Atheist qualify as prog (which I think they unmistakably do), then I can't conceive of any plausible reasons that Dark Angel wouldn't. Edited by CassandraLeo - May 22 2016 at 17:10
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aapatsos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 11 2005 Location: Manchester, UK Status: Offline Points: 9226	Posted: May 23 2016 at 14:31
	OK, thanks for the note, I will take this to the team but I would not hold my breath. Very technical band indeed, but progressive? Let's see what the team thinks, I will give a spin to Time Does Not Heal.

Pastmaster Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member Joined: January 23 2015 Location: Spiderwood Farm Status: Offline Points: 1774	Posted: May 30 2016 at 20:18
	I of course have no decision in the matter, but I agree that "Time Does Not Heal" totally deserves a spot here. Killer album that's basically the Symbolic of the thrash metal world.

aapatsos Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: November 11 2005 Location: Manchester, UK Status: Offline Points: 9226	Posted: May 31 2016 at 15:28
	The team has had a listen and outright rejected the band for inclusion. Great listening but nothing to do with prog in my opinion (and others' it seems). Thanks

UMUR Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 19 2007 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 3010	Posted: June 01 2016 at 08:22
	Feel free to visit the Dark Angel profile on MMA though: http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/ (MMA is PA´s metal related sister site).
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