Ascending from the depths, the almighty DEATH ANGELreturn to offer their latest, energy fuelled masterpiece:Humanicide-are turn to the wolves alongside a survivalist pack mentality are whatpropelthe powerful themes erupting from these fresh metal anthems. In a modern capitalist societywhere selfishness reigns and communal help and survival are things of the past, DEATH ANGEL produce sounds and symbols that point out the truths of attempting to exist safely in the present day. The title itself describes a plain in which humans, after generations of violence, regression, and hate, have finally extinguished themselves into dust. The wasteland they left behind is populated only by those creatures that passionately depend on their pack for survival: the wolves. Gnashing their teeth and struggling to survive in an abandoned world, the wolves are back and galloping fiercely across the cover of the album. Adorned in the war skins of their enemies and the creatures they’ve killed together in order to survive, the powerful messages of the songs can be seen inBrent Elliott White’s fantastic piece of art. Much like the beasts on the album cover, the writing process for DEATH ANGEL has remained airtight and continued to amplify throughout the years. The fundamental structures of the songs are created,and it’s through the ultimate feel of these vibrations that emotions and lyrics eventually begin toadhere themselves to specific sounds. The songs are then massaged and encouraged until a complete record is conceived.“I have a system as far as songwriting goes,”explains guitarist Rob Cavestany,“I’ve just sort of evolved to what works best for me these days. It starts with riffs and various ideas I’ve compiled as I feel creative here and there, lots of notes; musical, lyrical, conceptual you name it. I start it out, catch a vibe, see what I like, and just start crafting away. By the time I give skeletons of songs to Mark to work on vocals, they’re pretty close to what they’re gonna be. If I really feel strongly about something I’ll write the lyrics to the song. After creating the initial demo of a song at my home studio (Spiderville in Oakland) then I get together with Will to work on beats & grooves and record live drums. Then, record Damien who comes up with most of his own bass lines. After that is when Mark gets the‘demo tape’to work out lyrics. All this is part of ‘pre-production’ that I do myself before the producer even hears a note. Then we do it all over again including Ted throwing in some solos of his own. It’s an old school process of recording demos as a ‘rough draft’ and making the appropriate Dark Angelimprovements on the actual album.”
