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Interviews : “It’s been four years since we were there” – An Interview With Rob Cavestany (Death Angel)

By on February 7, 2018

Death Angel – Rob Cavestany

Rob Cavestany is a brilliant guitarist with a deft picking hand, he and his cohort in Death Angel have produced eight albums of thrash metal appealing to a broad cross-section of heavy metal fans and they certainly enjoy a loyal following here in Australia. Their upcoming tour may not be their first however this time around they are touring with Sepultura!

A double bill for riff-fanatics that is one riff-fest to look forward to, Cavestany is equally thrilled at the prospect of playing on our beer and sweat-stained stages.

“We tour a lot, but we do not get to tour down there nearly enough. It’s been four years since we were there with Kreator, that’s far too long in my book. But it is what it is, and we’re happy that we got these shows coming up now. And of course, with the mighty Sepultura. The package is obviously going to be insane. It’s still a little bit of ways away, so we haven’t really decided on our exact setlist yet.”

Many will be aware that Death Angel shares a common thread with Silverchair in that the band’s debut (The Ultra-Violence– ’87) was recorded when the musicians were mere teens. Three albums released, barely into their 20’s and taking stock of their burgeoning career they went on a hiatus and Cavestany formed The Organization, a groove-infused and funkified thrash outfit in 1991 that continued until 1995. Having spoken to Mille from Kreator, Schmier from Destruction and Blitz from Overkill about the career decisions they were faced with in the early 90’s when metal was seen as appealing as a virus to mainstream consumers and record companies, Cavestany’s decision to form a band appealing to more contemporary tastes wasn’t the move that many would perceive.

“I have actually a very soft spot in my heart for The Organization. That was an amazing moment in life when that was happening. Unfortunately, we were just got caught in the middle of a moment in time of music. And we never were able to – it’s just people were puzzled by that band. They wanted Death Angel, and we couldn’t escape the shadow of what we’d already had built as Death Angel. In our minds, we’re moving beyond that band… We just wanted to just jam, have fun playing music, and screw all this business side of music that was getting in the way of everything. So, we just wanted to break free from everything, and just be this like fucking bohemian musicians running around, not caring so much about the business side of it, and trying to get back to the love of music that we originally had when we discovered music, and formed our band to begin with”

Those who appreciate funk-metal rooted in the thrashier aspects of early Faith No More and 24-7 Spyz should check The Organization out.

Death Angel is a band steeped in the cultural heritage of the Philippines given the band’s original core membership were mostly family and of Filipino heritage. The bands line up may have changed yet it was interesting to hear that a newer band member was very familiar with Pinoy culture.

“The newer guys that are in the band, the guys that weren’t in the original band, they are very used to this (Filipino) kind of culture too, because they grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, which means that they grew up having tons of Filipino friends. Will Carroll, our drummer, he grew up in Daly City, which is a town that’s just – it’s like almost all Filipinos in that town. It’s like San Francisco and I grew up there when I was a younger kid, my family had lived there too and Will, who is not Filipino at all, he’s an Irish guy, but he grew up in that clique. So, joining Death Angel for him is like normal. He’s like a Filipino dude, but in a white guy’s body. So, we definitely have a family-style vibe to our band, and I love it that way, because you practically are.”

The new album ‘The Evil Divide’, out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

Family values and themes relating to the narrative may not be synonymous with the lyrics to Cavestany’s buzz-saw riffs in Death Angel, but he is keen to point out that the band is nothing less than collective that acts as a family for him.

“I got my actual blood family at home, but I have my touring and music family, that’s as deep as it gets. That’s our experience with the band and music, and I’m glad that that’s the way that we experienced it because it’s a lot of fun that way.”

Catch the Death Angel on tour this May across Australia with Sepultura. See below for full tour dates and ticket info. 

SEPULTURA (With specials guests Death Angel) Tour Dates

Tuesday 15th May – MELBOURNE, 170 Russell
Wednesday 16th May – ADELAIDE, The Gov
Thursday 17th May – BYRON BAY, The Northern
Friday 18th May – BRISBANE, Eatons Hill Hotel
Saturday 19th May – SYDNEY, The Metro Theatre
Sunday 20th May – PERTH, Capitol

Tickets: https://metropolistouring.com/sepultura-death-angel/

About

Anwar is the editor-in-chief of Metal Obsession.net. When Anwar isn't busy promoting tours, interviewing bands and reviewing awesome music, he loves to collect metal vinyl and play video games. Follow Metal Obsession on Twitter and Facebook