Dark Angel is an American thrash metal band from Downey, California, that formed in 1981. The band's current lineup includes guitarists Jim Durkin and Eric Meyer, drummer Gene Hoglan, bassist Mike Gonzalez and frontman Ron Rinehart. In its history, they have gone through many lineup changes, and there are no original members left in Dark Angel besides Durkin, who was out of the band from 1989 to 2013. Meyer, who joined in 1984, is the only member to appear on all of their albums. Dark Angel's over-the-top style (extremely fast, heavy and lengthy songs with many tempo changes, lyrics, and extended instrumental parts) earned them the nickname "The L.A. Caffeine Machine". Despite never achieving mainstream success, the band is often credited as one of the leaders of the second wave of the 1980s thrash metal movement, and they have been cited as a strong influence to the death metal genre. Dark Angel has released four studio albums to date: We Have Arrived (1985), Darkness Descends (1986), Leave Scars (1989) and Time Does Not Heal (1991). Following their first split in 1992, and a short-lived reunion from 2002 to 2005, the band reunited once again in 2013. After nearly a decade of work in progress, they plan to release their first studio album in 32 years in 2023. History Early years (1981–1991) Dark Angel formed in 1981 under the name Shellshock in Downey, California, right around the time when the Bay Area thrash movement was beginning to take place. They were forced to change their name to Dark Angel in 1983 due to another band using the name. They played in local bars and clubs, acquiring a cult following in the metal underground. The band began recording and releasing several demos before releasing their debut studio album We Have Arrived in March 1985. Dark Angel promoted We Have Arrived with its first ever tour, opening for bands like Slayer, Megadeth, Venom, Savage Grace, Corrosion of Conformity, Possessed, D.R.I., Exodus and Agent Steel. In November 1986, Dark Angel released their second studio album, Darkness Descends, which is widely considered to be their seminal release. Around the same time, several other thrash metal bands such as Metallica also released seminal albums and started to gain more popularity. Although Darkness Descends did not initially reach the Billboard 200 charts or become a commercial success, Dark Angel spent most of 1986 and 1987 touring heavily