DEATH ANGEL will return to Europe this December for a 12-city tour built around a full performance of "Act III," the Bay Area thrash veterans' 1990 breakthrough, marking the album's 35th anniversary. Fellow Bay Area thrash pioneers VIO-LENCE will provide direct support across the run.
The tour kicks off December 1 in Brno, Czech Republic, and moves through Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark before wrapping December 13 in Hamburg. Stops include Berlin's Kesselhaus, Munich's Backstage Werk, Stuttgart's LKA Longhorn and the Eindhoven Metal Meeting festival. Tickets go on sale July 15 at 2 p.m. CEST.
"Act III," released in 1990 through Geffen Records, is widely regarded as DEATH ANGEL's defining early statement, following the band's 1987 debut "The Ultra-Violence" and 1988's "Frolic Through The Park." The record's technical, breakneck riffing and Mark Osegueda's razor-edged vocals helped cement the band's place alongside TESTAMENT and EXODUS in the first wave of Bay Area thrash, even as internal turmoil and a serious tour-bus accident later that year would sideline the band for over a decade.
DEATH ANGEL reformed in the 2000s and has remained a steady presence on the scene since, releasing a run of albums including "The Art Of Dying," "Relentless Retribution," "The Evil Divide" and 2019's Grammy-nominated "Humanicide." The band issued two new singles, "Wrath (Bring Fire)" and "Cult Of The Used," in 2025, signaling continued momentum heading into its fourth decade.
The current lineup pairs Osegueda with guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar, bassist Damien Sisson and drummer Will Carroll — the same core that has driven the band's post-reunion output. Cavestany, alongside original members Dennis Pepa and Andy Galeon, founded DEATH ANGEL in Daly City, California, in 1982.
Full "Act III" album performances remain relatively rare for the band, making this European run a notable draw for longtime fans who watched the record shape thrash metal's second generation. With VIO-LENCE — another act tied directly to the Bay Area's original scene — on the bill, the tour doubles as a reunion of sorts for the region's formative thrash lineage.