“The Bastard Tracks”. B-Sides. The meat of the record. Songs not usually on the live set. Deep cuts. Tracks the diehard fans know.
Death Angel created this web stream to dig “deep into [their] catalog to perform older favorites, newer classics and songs that have never been performed live before” with multiple interview segments containing the stories behind the songs and “a glimpse into the collective minds and souls of Death Angel.”
With all of the venues in San Francisco having been shuttered since March 2020, and without knowing just how much longer Covid-19 is going to keep them closed, Death Angel was able to utilize the empty Great American Music Hall and stream their live set… and what a wonderful sight it was to see this historic venue, almost as if we were actually in the building with them!
Spinning Platters was invited to “photograph” and review this performance, and since our rock/metal photographer has been riding out the latter part of this pandemic in Florida, he didn’t even need to be in San Francisco to do it as this set could be viewed from anywhere in the world!
Anywhere in the world indeed! A quick scroll of the live fan chat showed fans logged in from everywhere worldwide, at their equivalent of the 3pm PST start time, from Germany, Argentina, Ireland, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and of course, from both coasts and everywhere in-between of the United States.
The festivities kicked off with a full band interview with singer Mark Osegueda, guitarists Rob Cavestany and Ted Aguilar, bassist Damien Sisson, and drummer Will Carroll, to introduce what “The Bastard Tracks” was all about.
Every two or three songs, there would be another interview segment, each which featured a couple of the guys and they would share stories about the next set of Bastard Tracks they were about to perform. Without giving too much away, here is a short note about each “Bastard Track”, in the order of which they were performed on the webstream.
(1) Lord of Hate (from Killing Season) — written about their utter frustration with people in power abusing that power
(2) Where They Lay (from Relentless Retribution) — written about the “bullshit” they endured throughout their career
(3) Why You Do This (from Frolic Through the Park) — song title is an inside joke of the original five band members, from a scene in The Exorcist
(4) Fallen (from The Dream Calls For Blood) — written by Mark about a point in his life when he was “at his worst” but where some people thought he was “at his most fun”
(5) Absence of Light (from Relentless Retribution) — one of Mark’s all time favorite songs, and the “Bastard Track”
(6) The Organization (from Act III) — there’s a crazy Frolic tour story as to where the name of the song came from
(7) Execution / Don’t Save Me (from The Dream Calls For Blood) — very Frolic influenced, wild and complex song to play
(8) Succubus (from The Dream Calls For Blood) — Mark: “How can I write a break-up song and make it metal?” Will: “Does she know it’s about her?” Mark: “No!” (both laugh)
(9) It Can’t Be This (from The Evil Divide) — “another break-up song inspired by a relationship [Mark] couldn’t wait to get the hell out of!”
(10) Let the Pieces Fall (from The Evil Divide) — one of Mark’s all-time Top 5, about the naysayers he had when he started singing, and how it affected him
(11) Faded Remains (acoustic) (from Under Pressure EP) — first acoustic song Mark ever wrote lyrics to, about the loss of an immediate family member
(12) Volcanic (acoustic) (from Relentless Retribution) — a dark song about continuing on after the loss of two of the original band members
(13) Falling Off the Edge of the World (from Mob Rules by Black Sabbath) — Rob’s favorite Sabbath record and really highlights Mark’s vocals because “he can do a good Dio!”
(14) Guilty of Innocence (from Frolic Through the Park) — a rebellious song about their feeling of that point in time (1987-88), where they are the freaks and longhairs getting frowned upon by the normal people
(15) Alive and Screaming (from Humanicide) — very first song that Ted wrote the music to since joining the band in 2001
The amazing production, video, quality, sound and overall show, combined with the rare opportunity of seeing the historic Great American Music Hall utilized in this manner, makes this a must-see webstream. A final check of the live chat comments showed a good portion of fans in attendance that wrote they would definitely purchase this if it ever gets released on DVD.
When touring returns and Death Angel finally hits the road again, we can only hope that some of these songs get removed from being a “Bastard Track” and incorporated back into their regular setlist for many tours to come!
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