Dark Angel: The Majestic Ventura Theater - Ventura, CA - 9/6/25
Thrash metal icons Dark Angel released their fifth studio album titled Extinction Level Event on September 5, 2025. It is their first album since 1991’s Time Does Not Heal. This year, they embarked on their first tour in over three decades. The band’s sole original member Jim Durkin passed away in 2023. With that, there are no original members left in the band with the current lineup. The members now have been in the band since the 1980’s and carry the band’s legacy. The newest member is guitarist Laura Christine who is also the wife of drummer Gene Hoglan. The tour features thrash metal brethren Sacred Reich, Hirax, and Void. The second stop of the tour was at the Majestic Ventura Theater in Ventura, California. Fans were lined up even before doors opened, and it was a promise to be a loud and unforgettable night.
Hirax have been around since the 1980’s. On February 28, 2025, they released their sixth album Faster Than Death. This was their first album in 11 years. Hirax came out to a nicely packed venue and immediately started playing some thrash metal music. The audience wasted no time in moshing and shoving into each other. Hirax played blistering tracks like “Blind Faith,” “Drowned Bodies,” and “Black Smoke”. Fans on the floor were moshing throughout the entire blistering set. The last song of their set was the fan-favorite “Bombs of Death” and drove the audience just as wild. Hirax are still going strong with new music and crazy shows, so if you see them coming near you, be sure to go see them.
Sacred Reich are a thrash metal band who have also been around since the 1980’s. Since then, they have released five studio albums with the latest being 2019’s Awakening. The lights went out and the crowd cheered as the members came out. Sacred Reich started their show with “The American Way.” Fast thrash metal commenced once again, and the fans continued to mosh. Sacred Reich would continue to play classics like, “Independent,” “Manifest Reality,” and “Salvation.” No matter what song they played, they were all played flawlessly. The final song of their performance was one of their best songs, “Surf Nicaragua.” Sacred Reich left the stage, and there was still one more band left to perform. The fans were still hungry for more metal.
The lights went out once more and the packed venue cheered as the members of Dark Angel made their way to the stage. The first song performed was “We Have Arrived,” a song from their 1985 debut album of the same name. They continued the thrash assault with “Time Does Not Heal” which is off their 1991 album of the same name. The next two songs were “No One Answers” and a new song and title track “Extinction Level Event.” Singer Ron Rinehart would regularly interact with fans and would go into the audience to let them sing the lyrics and even to mosh with them. More classic tracks were played such as “The Burning of Sodom,” “Merciless Death,” and “The Death of Innocence.” All the band members were on point and played the music flawlessly. Nearing the end of the set, it was time to bring out the big guns. Next up was one of their most popular songs, “Darkness Descends.” It was off their 1986 second album of the same name and the album itself it considered to be one of the best thrash metal albums of all time. To end their set, Dark Angel played “Perish in Flames” from the same album. The show sadly finished as the band members came out to personally thank the audience for coming out. The show is just getting started, so if you see the tour coming to your area, be sure to go out and support!
