Simon Rushworth
Often overlooked in favour of thrash metal’s so-called big four, the mighty Death Angel have always been regulars on the rushonrock turntables and we’re stoked to see the Californian crew on the brink of releasing a sixth studio album.
We’ve been well into Mark Osegueda and his men ever since the Bay Area band’s Frolic Through The Park found its way into our vinyl collection. And if 2008’s Killing Season proved the boys were back then one look at the newly unveiled artwork for September’s Relentless Retribution suggests their finest hour could be on the horizon.
Even the name is classic Death Angel and Osegueda said: “I haven’t been as excited about the cover artwork on any other Death Angel album as I am for this one! It fits the whole theme of the album! Angry and aggressive!
“I think what excites me most is that Brent Elliott White did the artwork based on our lyrics! It wasn’t an already finished product. When we first saw Brent’s work we were floored by the mixture of fantasy meets reality and we knew we wanted him to do the artwork for this album!
“In the end he surpassed our expectations with the fiercest Death Angel album cover to date!”
White, responsible for covers adorning albums by the likes of Job For A Cowboy and Whitechapel, added: “Originally the theme of this album was betrayal by those close to you and revenge against the deceitful.
“After a pretty spirited conversation with Rob Cavestany and emails back and forth the saying ‘Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing’ kept coming up. Basically we danced around that metaphor till it became pretty clear that a direct interpretation was the way to go.
“Illustrating betrayal and revenge in a single piece proved to be a challenge but as I received the lyrics to the songs things quickly fell into place.”
Death Angel fans don’t have to wait long to get their hands on the band’s latest record for Nuclear Blast with a September 6 UK release date inked in. Look out for a full review here soon.