Ah, by some miracle of liver resilience and questionable lung capacity, I clawed my way through the swamp of beer and weed to reach the Thursday night headliner at Party.San Metal Open Air: Dark Angel Official — thrash metal legends from the smog-choked wastelands of California.
Formed in 1981 in Downey, these maniacs have been churning out sonic violence longer than some of the crowd has been alive. The current lineup is a rogue’s gallery of destruction: Gene Hoglan hammering the drums like a man possessed, Eric Meyer and Laura Christine slicing the night open with their guitars, Ron Rinehart howling at the abyss, and Mike Gonzalez pounding basslines straight into the collective ribcage.
They don’t call them the L.A. Caffeine Machine for nothing. Songs faster than a heart attack, heavier than a hangover in hell, stuffed with tempo shifts, razor-edged riffs, and enough instrumental carnage to scramble your DNA. This wasn’t just a set — it was a strafing run, a full-scale assault.
Dark Angel delivered, and they didn’t just kick ass — they pulverized it into cosmic dust. A mighty headliner to crown the first day of a mighty festival. And if this was just the beginning, God help us all for what’s still to come… 
