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DARK ANGEL
Extinction Level Event

Reversed (2025)
Rating: 4.5/10

I developed worry lines overnight at the thought of reviewing the comeback album from one of my favourite ever thrash bands, Dark Angel. The last time I felt so nervous writing a review was when San Francisco Bay Area metallers Mordred reunited with their fourth album, The Dark Parade, in 2021. It was an underwhelming comeback which to this day I still struggle to come to terms with having been such a fan decades ago. And so, like so many others, the once titanic yet underrated Dark Angel returns.

Responsible for a handful of classic records in their heyday, namely Darkness Descends (1986), Leave Scars (1989) and Time Does Not Heal (1991), California’s Dark Angel have succumbed to the world of generic, digitally created cover art which is about as un-Dark Angel as it gets. This was an early warning sign that I tried to ignore, hoping that the new music would put any concerns to rest. Sadly, things didn’t get any better.

The band issued two singles prior the album release and I was actually shocked at how disappointing they were. What is it with everything sounding so sanitised, over, or in this case, under produced and formulaic? I recently had the joy of hearing and reviewing the recent Corotted album (Realm Of Insanity), a genuinely organic thrash album. Extinction Level Event, with its bland un-Dark Angel title, is completely the opening opposite as the title track proves.

What’s really sad is that the line-up, with the exception of guitarist Laura Christine who joined two years ago replacing the late Jim Durkin, is the same formation which appeared on their classic works. Ron Rinehart (vocals), Eric Meyer (guitar), Mike Gonzalez (bass) and Gene Hoglan (drums) is as formidable a line-up as it gets, but surely they didn’t orchestrate such a poor manoeuvre that is this album? The aforementioned title track (apparently written by Durkin a decade ago) is mechanical dross, the sort of choppy shit I’d expect from Machine Head as Rinehart does his best Robb Flynn impression with more struggle.

Now, don’t start thinking Dark Angel has gone all nu-metal, far from it, Extinction Level Event is as thrash as it gets, but it feels as if the mob has thrown together some bland, raw demos to try to make a statement, and while Hoglan remains a beast behind the kit, this really is mediocre at best. However, I can see some fans getting excited and spewing the ol’ “thrash is back” statement out, and sure, this is fast and riff-soaked, but as second single ‘Circular Firing Squad’ proves, it’s also extremely dull, flat and muddy. I just don’t understand how these guys got together in a room and decided this would be the outcome. ‘Circular Firing Squad’ could be from any nondescript thrash act, and that’s the major issue. Pluck any track from Extinction Level Event and you’ll be hit by a tornado that leaves no impression at all, let alone a lasting one.

There are clusters of speeding, ferocious riffs littered through each song and Hoglan ramps up his tirades with usual vigour, but I’m left wondering about the missed opportunities here. What happened to the Dark Angel demos that were to be the next album after Time Does Not Heal? Rinehart sounds like he really struggled during the recording process, occasionally drifting towards a poor James Hetfield yelp while suffocating under the horrific mix whereby the pancake flat guitar, drums and bass frantically squirm for recognition but fail miserably. It’s just abysmal, and again I’m baffled as to how the band was satisfied with such a mess.

Even the track titles are a shambles: ‘Apex Predator’, ‘Scalar Weaponry’, ‘Scarface The Room’, ‘Terror Construct’ and ‘Extraction Tactics’. Musically it’s a whimper, a horrid mundane thrash exercise that’s misguided and sloppy. Even when a half decent riff exposes itself, it’s quickly blanketed by clay. These may sound like strong words, but I’m not here to lick the orifice of Dark Angel just because I adored them decades ago. The harsh reality is that somehow this final product got by the quality assurance team and Hoglan, who acted as executive producer, should be ashamed of this bodge job and the fact that my review puts heavy focus on the shocking production rather than the actual songs.

I’ve spent a lot of time with this album and in doing this review, trying to find positives within the muddy mire. At a push, the tribal drums on ‘Woke Up To Blood’ are strong, but I wouldn’t expect anything else from Hoglan. The Slayer-esque attack of ‘Extraction Tactics’ kept me on my toes, even with its predictable dynamics, as did the chugging menace of ‘E Pluribus Nemo’, but highlights on such a flat horizon are so few and far between, and even when a deviation does come – an atmospheric style synth or gang chant – it’s ill-fitting.

In their attempt to regress back to their thrash origins, Dark Angel haven’t just shot themselves in the foot, they’ve wiped themselves into extinction. Now I’ll just retire back to my hole and await the backlash from those claiming “this is just like classic Dark Angel” and “it’s like they’ve never been away”. Over three decades of silence from Dark Angel and we get served Extinction Level Event, one of the most disappointing and insulting comebacks since ABBA.

Neil Arnold

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