Live Review : Dark Angel + Schizophrenia @ Academy 2, Manchester on June 9th 2025
The prevailing wisdom is that when thrash emerged in the early 1980s, it was a unified entity. A unitary sub-genre with a singular sound and context. This fits the narrative of thrash as the rejuvenative power that transformed metal, but if we are honest is more myth than solid historical fact. The truth is that thrash was a broad term used to describe an emerging hodgepodge of styles that shared a belief that metal was becoming too bloated, comfortable, and mainstream. Some purveyors hitched themselves to the emerging hardcore punk scene whilst others mined the back catalogue of NWOBHM luminaries Diamond Head, Satan and Venom.
And then there were those who just wanted it all to be faster, nastier and corrosively nihilistic. Leading that particular surge was Slayer, but snapping at their heels was Dark Angel. Whilst they never achieved the infamy and acclaim of their Californian brethren, there are those (including this very scribe) who consider them to be the quintessential thrash band. They may have never broken through in the way that the big four and even Testament or Exodus have, but the current American metal scene would sound very different without them.
Tonight’s show is pulling double duty. It is a chance for the current incarnation of the band to play Manchester for the first time since their now legendary shows supporting Nuclear Assault in 1989. They clutching a new album (their first in 34 years) and are rather chuffed with what they have conjured up. But alongside resolutely looking forward, this evening is also an act of remembrance. It is a celebration of the life and works of Dark Angel’s founder, guitarist and principal songwriter Jim Durkin, who sadly left us in 2023. As part of that tribute, they are going back to the beginning and revisiting in full their seminal work “Darkness Descends”. Released a mere month after “Reign in Blood” it matched it pound for pound in terms of crushing anarchic noise. As with Reign, below the clattering cacophony was a level of technical complexity that created a benchmark that still stands today.
Schizophrenia are a living manifestation of the influence of Dark Angel and “Darkness Descends”. Hailing from Belgium, they play their thrash hard and heavy. You can see the fingerprints of Slayer and Dark Angel all over their work, but there is enough individualistic charm at play to stop it from being a direct facsimile. They are given a generous hour's worth of stage time, which means that as fast as their material is, their appearance doesn’t feel rushed or insignificant. They lean into their luxuriously lengthy set and jestfully play with the audience, constantly reminding us it is a Monday night. They may well be young, but there is something timelessly wonderful about the musical path they have chosen to tread. The guitars sore with malignant intent and the whole stage frissons with kinetic energy.
Ricky Mandozzi is on particularly chatty form. You can tell that the whole band are inherently over excited about getting the chance to support someone as influential and revered as Dark Angel. Ricky rightly states that this is their third visit to Manchester and goads us into bringing the chaos. His encouragement results in a pretty decent pit (especially for the size of the crowd) and the bodies swirl in appreciation. He evens runs his own version of a popularity contest, allowing us to choose between a Slayer and Morbid Angel cover. The catcalls for each act are pretty much even, though Ricky in the end plumps to go with ‘Necrophiliac’.
Whilst a good chunk of those cavorting up front are already familiar with Schizophrenia, the appearance of a track by the mighty Slayer makes the whole thing reach boiling point. Complete strangers invade each other's personal space, and the lyrics are screamed along with passion. But those who wanted a Morbid Angel number do not need to feel despondent. Tonight’s lengthy set is the gift that keeps giving, and they manage to shoehorn ‘Maze of Torment’ in as their final number. They may be ploughing furrows that have been plentifully trod, but Schizophrenia do what they do exceptionally well and get the fevered reaction they deserve.
Persevering a legacy is not easy. Whilst they never broke through in their initial incarnation, time and streaming mean that the name Dark Angel is now treated with respect and reverence. It would be easy to go through the motions and pick up the paycheck, but this evening this revitalised version of the band are simply extraordinary. They provide a veritable masterclass in malevolent metal. Heavy, brittle and technically unfaultable. Jim may sadly be longer here, but Laura Christine (wife of Gene Hogan) makes a perfect replacement. She unfurls riff after riff, sharp and incisive and designed to do maximum damage. Talking about Gene, he lives up to all his hype. He is a thunderous rhythmic monster, pounding out complex polymorphic patterns at the drop of a hat. Those of us who saw them over the years on the rare occasions they made it to these shores are in on the secret, but there is an air of gleefulness from those uninitiated upfront who are realising that, yes, they are this good.
Vocalist Ron Rinehart is on extraordinary form. He looks in astonishingly good shape for a man entering his sixties, and his Mohican gives the air of one who sees age as just a number. He wanders over every inch of the stage and frequently beyond it. He is like an ADHD kid on tartrazine, exuding charisma and a level of wired hyperactivity. We get a stream of consciousness between each and every song, whether it be reminiscing about the first track he wrote with Jim (‘Never to Rise Again’), eulogising about why he doesn’t do interviews or spouting proudly about the forthcoming record. Lots of frontman pertain to be “men of the people” but that sentiment is genuine with Ron. He spends as much time as he can on the barrier, communing with the great unwashed. During ‘Black Prophecies’ he even wanders up to the access enclosure in order to watch the band with the fans.
Whilst the opening tracks land well, we are really all here for one thing; a complete run through of “Descend into Darkness”. The hordes on the floor had already been displaying six shades of euphoria, but the atmosphere ratchets up at least 3 further points as the opening title track kicks out. Let's be clear, this album of glorious gnarly, indignant noise is 39 years old. Yet it feels relevant, current and challenging. It’s portent and cultural relevance are even more shocking when you realise that if you go back 39 years the other way, you are twelve months on from the end of the second war and deep in the territory of Vera Lyn and the ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’.
They deal with the seminal album with a straight bat. They don’t mess with the formula and the seven tracks are pretty much dispensed with as recorded. We still get Ron’s running commentary in between tracks, continually bigging up the pit potential of each track and dragging a publicity shy Mike Gonzalez into the spotlight. Aside from Laura this is a unit that has played together on and off since 1987 and the tight musician and comradeship is obvious.
There is no encore, instead they end the night in the way the album we are paying homage to ends. ‘Perish in Flames’ is a powerful explosion of undulating extremities. Heavy and heaving but also intricate and multifaceted. It brings the evening to a staggering conclusion. There are cries for one more song, but if we are honest Dark Angel’s job is done. They have honoured their fallen leader by reminding us just how forward-thinking they and he were. A masterclass of molten modern metal from the band that set the template, just don’t leave it so long next time.
I just love Metal. I love it all. The bombastity of symphonic, the brutality of death, the rousing choruses of power, the nihilistic evil of black, the pounding atmospherics of doom, the whirling time changes of prog, the faithful familiarity of trad, the other worldlyness of post, the sheer unrefined power of thrash. I love it all!