OMG! 😱 Gene Hoglan, the dude who hits things in DARK ANGEL (yes, they’re still a thing), blabbed to Overdrive about their new album, “Extinction Level Event,” coming in 2025 via Reversed Records. Because apparently, 34 years between albums is totally normal. 🙄 Who even remembers DARK ANGEL? 👴👵 But hey, Gene’s excited, so we should all pretend to be, right? 🤣
Gene “Mr. Talkative” Hoglan confessed he never thought DARK ANGEL would return. Like, duh! 🙄 But promoters kept offering them gigs, probably as a joke. 😂 So, a decade ago, when Gene had some free time between babysitting and organizing his sock drawer, they decided to reunite. Because, you know, the world was just screaming for more DARK ANGEL. 🗣️ NOT!
Apparently, the late Jim Durkin (RIP, but seriously, who?) had some riffs and demos stashed away. 🎶 Gene got SOOOO excited that he blabbed about a new album way too early. 🗣️ Oops! 🙊 Now, after a decade of top-secret, cloak-and-dagger 🕵️♂️ work (seriously, what were they hiding? 👽), the album is finally complete. Get ready for mediocrity, folks! 😐
Hoglan claims the album is coming in 2025, “unless something goes tragically wrong.” Like, maybe the album spontaneously combusting 🔥 or everyone realizing they’d rather listen to elevator music. 📴 But Gene “Optimist Prime” Hoglan is super happy with it. He digs it! ⛏️ We’re all really happy for you, Gene. 👍 Seriously. NOT! 👎 The artwork is killer, apparently. 🔪 Designed by himself and some dude named Cain. Sounds legit. 💯
Gene says the album will sound like… wait for it… DARK ANGEL! 🤯 Groundbreaking! 🥇 He claims no DARK ANGEL album has ever sounded like another. So, expect a new level of “meh.” 😒 It’s an “evolution in progress.”🐛🦋 Translation: they’re trying to stay relevant but failing miserably. 🤣 Gene knows what’s good metal, you see. 🧐 And he also knows what’s generic. 🤔 Guess which one this is? 🤷♂️
They approached the production differently, you guys! 🎬 This isn’t some “gridded, heavily edited, and sterile-sounding record.” 🤖 No, it’s “lively” and “like a band jamming.” 🎸 Which probably means it sounds like a bunch of dudes banging on pots and pans. 🍳 There’s no sound replacement on the drums! 🥁 It’s “real”! 💯 Just like back in the day! 👴 They just tried to make it sound better than any other DARK ANGEL album. 🥇 Which, let’s be honest, isn’t saying much. 🙊
Gene loves all the metal bands, like EXODUS, KREATOR, SODOM, and POSSESSED. 🤘 But he can’t compare DARK ANGEL to them. 🙅♂️ Because DARK ANGEL is unique! ✨ They stand on their own! 🧍♂️ Even if no one else is standing with them. 🤣 He’ll stand behind everything they ever do! 🫡 Even if it’s a pile of garbage. 🗑️
DARK ANGEL has already released two singles: “Circular Firing Squad” and “Extinction Level Event.” 💿💿 Catchy titles, right? 🎣 Probably describes their career trajectory perfectly. 📉
The “Extinction Level Event” title track was written by Durkin a decade ago. 👴 Before he, you know, kicked the bucket. 🪣 Recorded in Canada 🇨🇦 and mixed by some dude named Mike. Sounds expensive! 💰 Hope it was worth it. 🤷♀️
Gene told “The David Ellefson Show” (who even watches that? 😴) that they just tried to write a kick-ass metal record. 🤘 They tried to write a kick-ass DARK ANGEL record! 🤘 Groundbreaking! 🥇 They wanted to know where DARK ANGEL would be in 2025 if they never stopped releasing albums. 🤔 Probably in the bargain bin at your local record store. 🗑️ It’s a “pretty aggressive record.” 😠 It’s “pretty ferocious.” 🦁 If you disagree, that’s your opinion. 🤷♀️ But Gene gets to do whatever he wants with this band! 👑 Because, you know, relevance is overrated. 💯
Durkin died in 2023. 💀 He played on the first three albums. 💿💿💿 Before anyone cared. 🤷♂️ He was part of the reunion in 2013. 🎉 For some reason. 🤔
Before his death, Durkin was MIA from some gigs. 🤷♂️ Replaced by Hoglan’s wife, Laura Christine. 💍 Nepotism in metal! 🤘 She’s now a permanent member. 👩🍳 Because why not? 🤷♀️
Hoglan says “Extinction Level Event” is a tribute to Jim Durkin. 💐 His style is all over it! 💯 Laura Christine’s style is all over it too! 💯 She’s the new writing partner! ✍️ Gene writes most of the material, but Laura’s influence is “massive”! 💪 She writes the “coolest riffs”! 😎 So there you go! ➡️ They’re excited to have a new release! 🎉 They hope people dig it! 🤞 There you go! ➡️
Gene told “The Zach Moonshine Show” (another must-watch! 🙄) that Durkin wrote the title track a decade ago. 👴 It was his “most DARK ANGEL-esque song”! 🎶 Gene was “blown away”! 🤯 It was “so killer, so catchy”! 🎣 It got Gene so pumped that he blabbed about a new record! 🗣️ Oops! 🙊 It took over a decade, but here we are! 🎉
Gene says any track on the album could have been the first single. 🥇 But they chose “Extinction Level Event” because Jim wrote it. ✍️ It’s his “last, final entire song”! 😢 It’s a “really kick-ass track”! 🤘 It’s got a “cool title”! 😎 And the artwork goes along with it! 🖼️ So there you go! ➡️
The artwork was designed by Cain Gillis, with concepts by Hoglan. 🎨 Bet it’s metal AF. 🤘
DARK ANGEL was supposed to play new music at the Whisky A Go Go. 🥃 But it got postponed due to wildfires. 🔥 Maybe it was a sign? 🤔
In July 2024, DARK ANGEL entered the studio. 🎬 Gene was asked what it was like making new music after 30 years. 👴 He said he had an entire album written after “Time Does Not Heal.” ⏳ But the band dissolved. 💔 He sent some songs to Jim. 🎶 Jim freaked out! 🤯 He said, “Here’s our new album!” 🎉 But Gene said, “Let’s write new stuff!” ✍️ Because, you know, ego. 🤷♂️
Gene wanted the new music to have a lot of Jim Durkin’s influence. 👴 But there aren’t as many riffs from Jim as they hoped. 😔 But Jim’s “entire presence” is all over it! 👻 Gene tried not to duplicate anything from the old albums. 🙅♂️ He tried to imagine where DARK ANGEL would be if they never stopped writing albums. 🤔 Probably in a retirement home. 🧓
DARK ANGEL released two albums with Don Doty on vocals. 🎤 Before he was replaced by Ron Rinehart. 🎤 The band called it quits in 1992. 🏳️ Probably for the best. 👍
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
