Bay Area thrash metal legends Death Angel will release their long-awaited ninth full-length album, Humanicide, on May 31st via Nuclear Blast Records. Guitarist Rob Cavestany recently spoke with Metal Nation Radio host Rustyn Rose about the making of the album. Check out the interview below.

Cavestany: "We're old-school cats. We're not modern cats. If anything, that's one of the reasons we work with (producer) Jason (Suecof), because he's the modern cat. He's a dude that's on the cutting edge of technology and production, and I definitely want that happening to our music. Otherwise, we're going to be fucking dinosaurs over here, and I don't want that happening. I want to fuse the old school with a new, modern production. Part of that is just us being us, and being totally influenced by old-school music. Secondly, it's pushing to get together in the same room, as two actual humans organically having the energy come out of two or more people in the room, and getting it to flow into a creative space and trying to capture that into recording."

Death Angel is streaming the new song, "The Pack", via the lyric video below.

“'The Pack' is inspired by and dedicated to our fans! When I wrote this song, we had just come home from tour and I was still feeling the rush of performing at open air festivals. The energy exchange between us on stage and the mass of metal heads in the crowd is unlike any other. I wanted to capture it in a song about unity, like our song “Kill As One”. Our fan club is called 'The Pack', our fans get it! But it’s not only for them, it also branches out to represent our families, friends, team, crew... and all metal heads!  We feel honored to belong to this worldwide “pack.” This song requires crowd participation, we are SO looking forward to playing it live!” -  Rob Cavestany (lead guitar/backing vocals)

Humanicide is now available for pre-order here. Pre-order the album digitally to receive the tracks “Humanicide” and "The Pack" instantly (Amazon and iTunes only).

With their forthcoming album Humanicide, Death Angel has maintained their throne in the universe of Thrash while still managing to remain progressive in their style. They apply a wide variety of different elements to their music, always pushing to add newness to their sound. This time around they’ve included everything from acoustic bits, to guest musicians, to even (for the first time) the notes of a piano. All 10 songs flow seamlessly yet each leaves its own distinct impression. The first single and title track “Humanicide” triumphantly represents the entirety of the album, immediately energizing the listener.

Osegueda remarks: “I wanted to write something that metal fans could really grasp onto. Something dark and intense, that still makes sense. Right now I think it’s so apparent that the earth is in a sickened state.”

“When I wrote the music for our song 'Humanicide', I was shooting for an album opener that would have all the elements of an epic thrash opus. This meant a classic metal style intro leading into a ferocious “Bay Area Thrash Riff-o-Rama” complete with a crazy middle build up section to ramp up the circle pit until it’s all whipped up into a frenzy by the time the frenetic guitar solo hits, then concluding with a maniacal musical section leading into the outro. All it needed was the lyrics and vocal delivery to match the intensity and Mark went above and beyond the call of duty! Some of his best work in my opinion. One of my favorite DA songs for sure, it feels like the follow up to our song 'Thrown To The Wolves'. Can’t wait to play it live!” - Rob Cavestany

For the foutth album cycle in a row, Death Angel returned to their producer and friend Jason Suecof of Audiohammer studios for the recording and mixing, along with the mastering of the legendary Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound who added the final touches and brought it all to life, with artist Brent Elliott White providing the ominous cover artwork.

“I'm ecstatic to present Death Angel’s 9th studio album, Humanicide. This collection of songs represents the band in its current state - united, vital, intense and (still) hungry like the wolf! I wanted this record to be quite diverse stylistically while obviously keeping with the parameters of metal. DA has been known to push the envelope and we absolutely did this time. So many emotions expressed through our music, very much looking forward to adding these songs into our live set list. As I savor this rare feeling of satisfaction, we proudly unleash this beast upon thee!” - Rob Cavestany

Humanicide tracklisting:

"Humanicide"
"Divine Defector"
"Aggressor"
"I Came For Blood"
"Immortal Behated"
"Alive And Screaming"
"The Pack"
"Ghost Of Me"
"Revelation Song"
"Of Rats And Men"
"The Day I Walked Away" (Bonus Track)

"Humanicide" visualizer:

Trailers:

Death Angel lineup:

Rob Cavestany - lead guitar/vocals
Mark Osegueda - lead vocals
Ted Aguilar - rhythm guitar
Will Carroll - drums
Damien Sisson - bass

(Photo - Stephanie Cabral)