History & Biography Formed in 1982 in Los Angeles, Dark Angel was a Slayer-influenced band exercising thrash metal first at rehearsal and then on a Metal Massacre sampler.
Don Doty and Rob Yahn initially formed the act. The band's formation came out of the cover bands of various members who incidentally attended the same high school as most Metallica members. As such, the group operated as Shellshock for a year beginning in 1981. The monicker had to be changed, however, due to a band with the same name already existing.
After a debut on Azra Records of Los Angeles, the band moved on to Combat Records and released several ever-heavier albums with Time Does Not Heal even hitting the Billboard charts. Given the quality and heaviness of this album that was quite a feat. Durkin had earlier left the band due to family issues. He had also traded barbs with writer Borivoj Krgin in Metal Forces over a bad review. The 1989 album Leave Scars was promoted through an album release party at Los Angeles' Fenders Ball Room. An EP in 1990 was released called Live Scars. Jim Drabos had been a live replacement for Doty in 1987. Doty left partly due to drug issues. Brett Eriksen left to attend college. Chris McCarthy took his place. Time Does Not Heal was supported by a European tour, but the label refused to give the band a US tour support. More precisely, tour support was promised and then denied at the last minute. This was the beginning of the end. A new album was almost completed, but never recorded. Two members joined Hunger (earlier billed as The Hunger) and Ron Rinehart joined Oil, which was a groovy white metal act. This band broke up because Ron was injured.
Dark Angel and Death (chuck of Death also traded barbs with Malevolent Creation, Atheist and others) often traded accusations and vitriol in the ‘80s and early ‘90s and so it was a surprise to see Hoglan, who was once a Vikings' football prospect, later join Death. There have been reports of a reformation over the years yet nothing has transpired. Following the sudden illness of Ron Reinehart, the reformed Dark Angel had to cancel its European dates in 1999. The band hoped to reschedule for the year after. The year 2001 saw the re-release of We Have Arrived with its original cover through Dark Realm Records.
Following a number of album re-releases by Century Media there was an attempt by Eric Meyer to regroup and play a tour, but with members not being available (Yahn was in the US army, etc.) things fell apart. Still, the band unexpectedly reformed in 2002. While at first the drummer of Dreams Of Damnation Charlie Silva was named as a member, Gene Hoglan is eventually named as the line-up's drummer. A tour was announced, but soon rescinded. Jim Durkin was soon out of Dark Angel though. His erstwhile replacement, Strapping Young Lad, former Amoros and Caustic Thought guitarist Jed Simon, also decided against joining the band. Durkin supposedly was kicked out of the fold because of scheduling conflicts and his inability to commit to touring. The band was announced as playing Wacken Open Air in the summer of 2003. All live activity was postponed, however, following a spinal injury suffered by Reinhart. The gang entered Dreamcatcher Studio in Lake Balboa, California in the tail end of 2003 to begin recording a new album. The band was still looking for a recording contract. With nothing new transpiring Jim Durkin joined a reformed Ruthless in 2008 to play in Europe in 2009. Jim and singer Sami of Ruthless had been in Blood Alliance recently. Ruthless and Dark Angel had played together in the 1980s.
As of 2013, Dark Angel was working on reforming for live shows in 2014, including the Keep It True XVII festival on April 25 and 26, 2014 at in Lauda-Königshofen, Germany. The band was to be singer Don Doty, guitarists Eric Meyer and Justin Zych, bassist Mike Gonzalez and drummer Gene Hoglan. While it was initially announced that the plans are definite, Doty and Hoglan later qualified the statement. In the meantime, guitarist Jim Durkin had chimed in that only Ron Rinehart would be the singer of a reunion. Dark Angel’s appearance at 2014’s Keep It True Festival was cancelled after confusion and contradiction amidst the reforming band’s ranks as to who is a member and who is not. A new project called Eliminate featured singer Don Doty (ex-Dark Angel), guitarists Scott Owen (ex-Hirax) and Henry Elizondo (Devastation), bassist John Signorelli (Subversion) and drummer Sasha Horn (Forbidden). Most recently, Doty had hoped to be in a Dark Angel reunion. The band was recording a demo. Dark Angel was booked for 2014’s edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, taking place June 4th to 7th, 2014 in Sölvesborg, Sweden. Ron Rinehart was on vocals and Michael Gonzalez was on bass. The reformed Dark Angel performed live on Saturday, April 26th 2014 at The Metal Fest in Santiago, Chile. Ron Rinehart was on vocals. The reformed Dark Angel performed on June 5th 2014 at the Sweden Rock Festival in Sölvesborg, Sweden. To commemorate its 35th anniversary since founding and the 30th anniversary of its Darkness Descends album, Dark Angel would play the album in its entirety on October 8th 2016 at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver. Candlemass, Dark Angel, Cirith Ungol and Riot V were among the groups booked at Hell's Heroes Festival in Houston, Texas, USA April 2022. Jim Durkin was unavailable for the band’s show at the Hell's Heroes festival and was replaced by Laura Christine, wife of the band’s drummer Gene Hoglan, of Meldrum and Dreaming Dead.
The band was to play its Darkness Descends album of 1986 in its entirety in Los Angeles, California, USA on 14.04.2023. Evildead opened the concert. Guitarist Jim Durkin died on Wednesday March 8th 2023. He was 58. The man had missed several concerts recently. Dark Angel posted condolences on Facebook, activated a fundraiser and announced more concerts. A new album was being recorded in 2024. Dark Angel announced it would debut new music in its hometown of Los Angeles at the Whisky A Go Go on January 29, 2025. The band announced a mini-tour of UK and Ireland where it would play Darkness Descends in its entirety for the spring of 2025. The band was booked at Metal Beer Festival. The band reported premiering new music for its Latin American tour in 2025 including at Brazil's Bangers Open Air.
Dark Angel revealed Extinction-Level Event as the title for its comeback studio album during a concert at Uniclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The album was partly written by former guitarist Jim Durkin. The band was signed with Reversed Records. The band toured Europe in June 2025. It returned to Europe to play Darkness Descends in its entirety on select dates in August. Dark Angel embarked on The Extinction Level Event North American Tour in the autumn of 2025. It was Dark Angel's first in over three decades. Support acts for The Extinction Level Event North American Tour varied by date and included Sacred Reich, Hirax, Vio-Lence, Midnight, Void, and Interceptor. The album was released on September 5th, 2025. Its title was now Extinction Level Event and not Extinction-Level Event. The album was recorded and mixed at The Armoury Studio in Vancouver, Canada. It was produced by Rob Shallcross and mixed by Mike Fraser (AC/DC, RUSH, etc.). In something of a departure for the day's scene, the band did not make the album available through streaming media.
Reviews DARK ANGEL - EXTINCTION LEVEL EVENT - REVERSED 
Being a fan of, and fond of, Dark Angel's last full-length, 1991's Time Does Not Heal, there was some anticipation with me for Extinction Level Event. My pocket money had flown out of my wallet towards the early '90s album right when it was released. Subsequently, TDH had become my favourite of the Los Angeles thrashers. Still listen to it too.
There was chatter regarding a reformation with early singer Don Doty yet by entreaty of guitarist Jim Durkin, the reformation occurred with singer Ron Rinehart instead, which one would have thought would bode well. Yes, there is the usual trepidation anytime any old band reforms (listen to the crap that is Cancer for example), but this return and album go beyond the standard concern and present an album that thoroughly disappoints. Extinction Level Event is not good. It would be simplistic to tell ourselves the band should have gone back to sleep given how Jim Durkin died in 2023, but we all know that no band cares who lives, who dies, who leaves, who comes nowadays and they all keep going regardless. It didn't have to be this way either. The reformed Sacrifice's new album, for example, is very good. Let's judge this record for what it is.
The 2025 album begins with the line: "A thousand years have ended - the dark angel is loose from its prison... weeee have arrrrrived…" Has it really been that long? The vocals are processed and gone through a cheap effect to sound lower pitched. At times, it sounds less like extreme metal vocals and more like awkward rapping. The music is fast and extreme, yet without actually succeeding thanks to the annoying vocals, base sound and a general lack of quality. The weak vocals and the pathetic production bury the album straight away. This listener is all for primal metal; the more extreme the better. This though, is just badly written and produced. The engineers, mixers and mastering team belong in a studio about as much as Donald Trump belongs in public service. The guy who mixed this worked on Rocketellica's Load and Reload. Enough said, right? The title track includes a decent solo, but the album largely skips over them. Oh boy, that backing chorus on the song Circular Firing Squad is just… ouch. Given the title, did the band members subconsciously understand the quality of their new album? I mean, the man battle raps against himself on the song. Woke Up To Blood is just plain boring: a tepid song with sad vocals. Apex Predator is much better and actually injects some energy into my day. Then comes Sea Of Hands, which is another banal and blase thrash song. A good segment comes later in the album to start Scalar Weaponry, but the song sinks into mediocrity soon. Chug chug hiss. Chug chug hiss.
There are several videos of frontman Rinehart, and the band, on the internet performing live this year. Has this man been listening to Busta Rhymes' Extinction Level Event one too many times or what? Ron almost raps during his stage banters. He employs rap hand gestures and deploys phrases like "my man" and refers to the gig at hand as a "party." He somehow gives one the impression that he's in a hiphop band with his phrasings, awwwriggght? Metal is not hiphop, friend, awwwrrigght? Having said that, on the bright side, Ron Rinehart is not Razor's Bob Reid, one guy who would have excused himself had he any self-awareness or ears, but that still doesn't make Ron's vocals good. They are barely tolerable and certainly uninteresting. The sound here is congruent with the music. It's not 'take it or leave it' either. This is 'leave it or leave it.' Did they accidentally place the microphones in the wrong booth and record the band next door?
The only good thing that may come out of Extinction Level Event is that younger listeners may be turned on to the band and could discover a cool album called Time Does Not Heal (or Darkness Descends)! Speaking of the album's title. it sure rings true for... what it could do to the band.
Often, the smaller the label, the more artistic, the more true and the more refreshing the music, but in the case of Dark Angel and 2025, perhaps the bigger labels not working with the band actually was for a reason! It is somewhat shocking that the quintet had ten years+ to get it right and this is the outcome. In a world where records like Reign In Blood, Slaughter Of The Soul or Time Does Not Heal exist, there’s little reason to bother with this one. Making lemonade given this lemon of an album, my recommendation is for Dark Angel to make the best of it and insist on touring with Cancer or Razor. It's called damage control. - Ali "The Metallian"
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