In a recent interview with El Planeta Del Rock, DEATH ANGEL guitarist Ted Aguilar shared updates on the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band’s upcoming album, following their 2019 release Humanicide.
He said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “Rehearsals have been good. Writing has been good. I mean, we have pretty much the album pretty done. We’re just waiting on the lyrics right now. I know Rob [Cavestany, DEATH ANGEL guitarist and main songwriter] and Mark [Osegueda, DEATH ANGEL singer] are working on some stuff, but right now Mark‘s busy [touring] with [SLAYER guitarist] Kerry King[‘s solo band]. So when [Mark] gets back and we’re gonna get together and talk after the holidays and figure out a plan on when to release some music. So as of right now, music is done, lyrics have gotta get put on, and we’ll figure all that out in the new year.”
“Yeah, it’s going good. We’ve just gotta get together and figure out when’s a good time to release some music. And [we’re] just trying to get through these Christmas shows and holidays and we’ll get a plan. But definitely there’ll be some new music coming out next year for sure. We’ve just gotta figure it out.”
Aguilar was also asked about DEATH ANGEL‘s decision to withdraw from their fall 2024 tour as the supporting act for W.A.S.P., with ARMORED SAINT stepping in as their replacement.
“Schedule conflicts with Kerry King. Kerry King had some dates booked in Mexico during that time,” he responded. “And right now they’re in Australia. So it’s just schedule conflicts. And it’s okay. It does suck, but things happen for a reason. It would have been a nice tour — of course we’re bummed we’re not doing it — but you have to look at the positive side of things and go, well, we were able to write more songs for the [upcoming DEATH ANGEL] record, instead of prepping for the tour for and getting everything ready. It didn’t happen. ARMORED SAINT got the tour. They’re a good band and they deserve it.
“But we look at it as, ‘Well, since we’re not doing the tour, what are we gonna do? Well, let’s continue writing more songs.’ So I think at the end of the day, it’s a lot better to write more songs and start preparing for these [DEATH ANGEL] Christmas shows [in San Francisco at the end of December]. ‘Cause if we would have done that tour, we would have done five weeks of supports, and where are we gonna prepare for the Christmas shows, all these songs, these different setlists. I look at things as things happen for a reason, and for whatever reason it is, it brought us here, and we’re okay, man. We’re all right. There’ll be more tours to come about… You just have to find the positive out of it all. If you dwell on the negative, then it’s not gonna do you any good. Just find the positive, just like anything in life. So, something happens, just, okay, don’t focus on the problem, focus on the solution. The solution is, hey, okay, this is what we’re gonna do. You have to bounce back right away.”
“It does suck,” he added. “We would have loved to go on tour with W.A.S.P., and, of course, we love to play live. But the new record is important, these Christmas shows were important. So there’ll be more to come in 2025.”
When DEATH ANGEL‘s withdrawal from the W.A.S.P. tour was announced in August, the cancellation was attributed solely to “unforeseen circumstances,” with no additional details provided. Later, drummer Will Carroll offered more insight into the reasons behind the band’s decision to step away from the tour.
He wrote on Facebook at the time: “Now that the tour’s been cancelled I have a bunch of time freed up for the remainder of the year. Instead of falling deeper into depression (which really doesn’t suit me) I plan on staying busy with the drumming. [DEATH ANGEL guitarist] Rob Cavestany and I are continuing work on the new music. NOBODY can put the kibosh on that. But in addition to that I’d like to put the word out that I’m interested in working on other projects. I love recording and I’m pretty efficient at it. Gigs and touring are possibilities as well. So if you’re interested in working together hit me up on DM or if you have my number then contact me directly.”
“Please don’t ask me why we’re not on the WASP tour in the comments below,” he added. “I think it’s pretty f**king obvious…”
After former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt replied in below Will‘s post, ” This f**kin sucks!!! I’m so sorry Will“, the drummer responded, writing, “It really does. The word BETRAYAL comes to mind.” He added: “We knew there would be problems at some point but not so immediately.”
Will then added: “I notice people are slagging WASP here. As much as I’d like to I made a promise I would not go into details about why we are no longer doing the WASP tour….on social media. But to be clear it has absolutely nothing to do with WASP.”
Although Carroll did not directly say so, many of his Facebook friends and followers are speculating that DEATH ANGEL‘s decision to withdraw from the W.A.S.P. tour is at least partly connected to the touring commitments of SLAYER guitarist Kerry King‘s solo band, which features DEATH ANGEL vocalist Mark Osegueda.
Not long after DEATH ANGEL‘s tour dates with W.A.S.P. were announced, King‘s social media revealed that Kerry’s band would play two shows in Mexico in early November — one concert in Mexico City as the support act for AMON AMARTH on November 6, and another gig as the support act for SLIPKNOT in Guadalajara on November 8 — in direct conflict with the W.A.S.P. tour, which was scheduled to launch in late October and conclude in mid-December.
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