Concerts

Death Angel's Ten Best Songs, According to Guitarist Ted Aguilar

Thrash will never die, and the crushing force of Death Angel will make sure of it.

These Bay Area masters of heavy riffing, speed, and power will arrive in Miami to unleash the beast at Grand Central for a Motörhead's MotörBoat Cruise pre-party.

Before Ted Aguilar joined Death Angel as a guitar player, he was a fan who went to every show he could, starting when he was a kid in the '80s. So we caught up with the dude himself for his ten favorite Death Angel songs of all time.

See also: Five Signs You Might Be a Shitty Guitarist

Crossfade: What was your first Death Angel show, as a fan?

Ted Aguilar: Whoa, dude. Just off the top of my head, I'd say it was when The Ultra-Violence came out. The band had a video shoot for the song "Voracious Souls" in the summer of 1987. They played with Betrayal from Fresno. I was there for the video shoot. The club was jam-packed and the people were going crazy. Those guys were on fire. And growing up in the Bay Area thrash and metal scene, and seeing it worldwide, they were young. It was pretty unheard of in the '80s for a bunch of teenagers to be playing thrash. Most people were over 18 or in their 20s, and these guys were superyoung. And they were my same heritage, Filipino.

And now, the top ten:

10. "The Ultra-Violence" (Instrumental) from album The Ultra-Violence

One of the best instrumentals there are. Right up there with Metallica's Orion. Playing this live is fun 'cause you get to experience the energy, but listening to it brings me back to a time where, damn, that was some shit. I was like, "Hell yeah!" Those riffs, those beats, they make me want to release some energy. And it was written by teenagers, I could really relate to that.

See also: 25 Creepiest Heavy Metal Album Covers

KEEP MIAMI NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started Miami New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. With local media under siege, it's more important than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" program, allowing us to keep offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food and culture with no paywalls.
Jacob Katel
Contact: Jacob Katel

Latest Stories