Editing Death Angel (section)

===Early years (1982–1988)===
Death Angel was formed in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]], California, in 1982 by cousins Rob Cavestany (lead guitar, backing vocals), Dennis Pepa (lead vocals, bass), Gus Pepa (rhythm guitar), and Andy Galeon (drums)—all of Filipino descent. After considering a number of different names for the band (including Dark Fury), Cavestany and Dennis Pepa settled on the name Death Angel after coming across a book by that title in a book store.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://www.voicesfromthedarkside.de/interviews/deathangel.htm |title=Death Angel |access-date=February 7, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125000112/http://voicesfromthedarkside.de/interviews/deathangel.htm |archive-date=January 25, 2009 }}</ref> In 1983, the band released their first demo, ''Heavy Metal Insanity'', with [[Matt Wallace (record producer)|Matt Wallace]] serving as producer. According to Mark Osegueda, the group was then "more like a metal band, more like [[Iron Maiden]], [[Tygers of Pan Tang]] and stuff like that", as the so-called [[Bay Area thrash metal|Bay Area thrash]] movement was only just beginning to rise to prominence at the time and make its influence felt.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.darkside.ru/interviews/deathangel-eng.html |title=Russian Darkside e-Zine :: Interviews : Death Angel |access-date=January 6, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050225041051/http://www.darkside.ru/interviews/deathangel-eng.html |archive-date=February 25, 2005 }}</ref>  Osegueda, a second cousin of the other four members who had been working as their roadie, became the group's lead vocalist in 1984 and performed his first show with the band on a bill with [[Megadeth]] in April of that year (at one of the four Megadeth gigs to feature [[Kerry King]] on guitar).<ref name=autogenerated1 />

Death Angel continued to play club gigs in and around the San Francisco Bay area for nearly two years, writing songs and refining their stage show. In 1985, the band recorded the ''Kill as One'' demo produced by [[Metallica]]'s [[Kirk Hammett]], whom they had met at a record store signing in 1983.  The underground [[tape trading]] wave of the 1980s led to extensive distribution of the demo, bringing the band wide attention. Osegueda later recalled that prior to the release of the band's first album, "We were playing in L.A. and New York, and the crowd was singing our songs, because there was this underground tape trading .... That's what keeps it alive, and I think that's absolutely wonderful."<ref name=autogenerated1 />
In 1986, Death Angel performed at their Concord, California high school, Clayton Valley High School (now known as [[Clayton Valley Charter High School]]), at lunchtime.  They dedicated the song "Mistress of Pain" to a vice principal.

The success of ''Kill as One'' led to a record deal with [[Enigma Records]], who released Death Angel's debut album, ''[[The Ultra-Violence]]'', in 1987. The band recorded the album when all the members were under 20 years old (with drummer Andy Galeon being the youngest at 14),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dick |first1=Chris |title=Death Angel - "The Ultra-Violence" |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2015/05/27/death-angel-the-ultra-violence/ |website=Decibel Magazine |access-date=January 24, 2020 |date=May 27, 2015}}</ref> and subsequently embarked on its first tour, supporting such bands as [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]], [[Destruction (band)|Destruction]], [[Voivod (band)|Voivod]], [[Sacrifice (band)|Sacrifice]] and [[Whiplash (band)|Whiplash]].<ref name="metallipromo" /> A video was filmed for "Voracious Souls", a song about a band of cannibals, but it never aired on [[MTV]] due to the nature of the lyrics.

Death Angel released their second album, ''[[Frolic Through the Park]]'', in 1988. It featured more diverse material than the straightforward thrash of ''The Ultra-Violence''. It included a cover version of the [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] song "Cold Gin". The band released a video for the single "Bored" which received regular airplay on MTV's ''[[Headbangers Ball]]'', and the song appeared two years later on the soundtrack to the movie ''[[Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III]]''. The song was written under the seemingly unlikely influence of [[U2]], and the guitar playing of [[the Edge]] in particular.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> Despite the success of ''Frolic Through the Park'', the members of Death Angel have been somewhat critical of the album (including its production and musical direction), and in the band's 2015 documentary ''A Thrashumentuary'', Cavestany called it the band's "bastard album" and an "odd album".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKHPHRWV0kU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/RKHPHRWV0kU| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Death Angel • A Thrashumentary [2015]|date=April 2020 |access-date=July 16, 2021|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Aside from "3rd Floor" and "Bored", Death Angel has rarely played songs from this album live again since they reunited in 2001.

Following the release of ''Frolic Through the Park'', the band toured worldwide for the first time (with the likes of [[Motörhead]], [[Testament (band)|Testament]], [[Flotsam and Jetsam (band)|Flotsam and Jetsam]], [[Overkill (band)|Overkill]], [[Rigor Mortis (band)|Rigor Mortis]], [[Sacred Reich]], [[Forbidden (band)|Forbidden]], [[Vio-lence]] and [[Death (metal band)|Death]])<ref name="metallipromo" /> and found notable success in Japan, selling out two full Japanese tours.