In a current interview with Nikki Blakk of San Francisco’s 107.7 The Bone, Demise Angel and Kerry King vocalist Mark Osegueda opened up about why Demise Angel needed to pull out of its deliberate fall 2024 tour with W.A.S.P. and the way the choice fueled fan criticism of his dual-band commitments.
Osegueda confirmed that scheduling conflicts with Kerry King‘s solo mission in the end pressured Demise Angel to withdraw from the W.A.S.P. tour. Armored Saint was introduced in as a substitute, however Osegueda insists that he had made his availability points clear from the start.
“Since this complete Kerry band occurred, and nonetheless being a significant a part of Demise Angel, there was some backlash from a variety of Demise Angel followers, considering that [my involvement with Kerry] could be the top of Demise Angel or it is taking away from Demise Angel,” he defined. “After which there was a tour that Demise Angel needed to drop off of, and it was as a result of there have been conflicting dates with Kerry,” Osegueda shared.
“However when that W.A.S.P. tour was supplied to Demise Angel, I had put it on the market to the powers that be that, ‘Okay, however I can not assure I will be obtainable for the entire tour. Simply know this upfront. So when you take it, I must do reveals with Kerry in the event that they get booked, and it seems like they very nicely could.’ And nonetheless my phrases had been taken and with enthusiasm, they only heard, to a sure diploma, individuals thought, ‘Properly, let’s do it.’ I mentioned, ‘Okay, let’s, however as soon as once more…’ I imply, each little bit of communication we had, I’d reiterate that.”
“And we nonetheless went for it, throwing warning to the wind, and the wind blew again ultimately, so to talk. And I mentioned, ‘Hey, what we did not wish to occur is going on. However all of us knew this going upfront. So that is what we will do.’ And I really, being somebody — I do attempt to troubleshoot for Demise Angel on a regular basis as a result of there’s been a few years that Demise Angel has been self-managed by me, Rob [Cavestany, Death Angel guitarist] and Ted [Aguilar, Death Angel guitarist], and we have additionally had administration, however we at all times work with administration very nicely. And so I attempted to troubleshoot, and I mentioned, ‘Look, I might suppose of some singers that would fill in,’ and I gave some names and whatnot, simply as an possibility. ‘Trigger I did not need them to lose the tour.”
Regardless of his transparency, issues did not go as deliberate: “However the actuality is what the truth was. So ultimately, what got here again when that was supplied to the W.A.S.P. camp and reserving brokers, whatnot, they only mainly mentioned, ‘Properly, we do not desire a fill-in for 2 explicit occasions,’ ‘trigger I’d have missed two batches of dates, and so they did not need that to be the case… That is just about the stance they took. So, then, from there on, push got here to shove, and so they bought Armored Saint, which I believe it is an incredible invoice. I imply, who’s to say that W.A.S.P. and Demise Angel would not have been an incredible invoice? Lots of people had been wanting ahead to it.”
Issues took a flip as soon as followers realized Demise Angel‘s absence from the tour was linked to Osegueda‘s dedication to Kerry King‘s mission. That is when criticism in opposition to him intensified.
“Previous to [Death Angel pulling out of the W.A.S.P. tour], there was not a lot negativity about me being in Kerry‘s band, however when that hit, then the floodgates opened,” he continued. “And that is when lots of people began saying destructive issues about me and my character and the way it was affecting the band they love. Unbeknownst to them, consider it or not, I like that band greater than they do.”
One other supply of frustration for some was that Osegueda did not inform his Demise Angel bandmates about his involvement with Kerry‘s band till the information turned public. He defined that non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) prevented him from sharing particulars earlier than the official announcement in February 2024.
“I could not actually inform the blokes ‘reason for NDAs [non-disclosure agreements I signed] and whatnot,” he mentioned. “And I do know individuals will say, ‘Properly, that is your blood. These are your bros.’ But it surely’s an NDA. It is a authorized, binding contract that I signed and I respect that. And wording in NDAs are form of daunting.”
Osegueda admitted as soon as once more, that retaining the key was notably difficult within the tight-knit steel group, the place phrase spreads quick: “The steel group is a hen home,” he remarked. “It truly is. And simply, bap, bap, bap, bap, and phrase simply will get out, and it is identical to speedy fireplace. And Blabbermouth or not, it simply takes somebody from one crew, one band, and so they discover out and it simply goes round And we needed to exit of our option to preserve this mainly the largest secret there was. As a result of everybody form of had an thought of who was in [Kerry‘s] band, however for essentially the most half, nobody knew who the singer was. All of them assumed it was Phil [Anselmo]. And it was simply form of fairly an enormous secret to maintain down. In order that was laborious. And I perceive that. And I defined that to the blokes after I did inform them. And there you go.”
Regardless of the miscommunications and the backlash, Osegueda insisted that he had been upfront with Demise Angel‘s decision-makers about potential scheduling conflicts with Kerry King‘s band: “However once more, as I mentioned, after we took the W.A.S.P. tour, I did inform the powers that be that make the selections for this band, me being considered one of ’em, what might happen,” he reiterated. “Now say the powers that be throughout the band, or individuals that do not have the facility within the band to make the selections, they may not have identified that I had prefaced this with administration and the blokes who make the enterprise selections.
“And never everybody on this band is a decision-maker with regards to this band. And that is simply the pecking order of how this band works. A few of us have longevity and precedence and a few of us do not. And that may at all times be the case, even when it goes down 20 years from now. Rob and I nonetheless have two extra a long time extra historical past within the band. In order that’s simply the case.”
“And it is a greater method for a band to work. We have tried with the unique Demise Angel lineup to do it as a democracy, and it would not work. It simply would not work. It simply breeds extra chaos and extra rigidity, strife. [Too many cooks in the kitchen] — with all the things, from writing, to setlists, to all the things. So, there must be some form of set construction, a minimum of with this band. It really works higher that method. And most bands I’ve seen which have longevity, it tends to be the case as nicely.”
Requested which singers had been thought of as potential fill-ins for the tour, Osegueda prevented naming names however confirmed that he had steered a number of choices to Demise Angel‘s administration: “Properly, I do not even know… I should not go down that highway, however I steered just a few names, after which I believe administration and other people had been wanting into individuals as nicely,” he mentioned. “And it simply wasn’t, I assume, jelling, particularly with Rob.
“Rob and I had just a few conversations, and he is, like, ‘It is simply not the identical.’ And I am not saying it’s or is not for any band, or it is totally different for any band, however it’s laborious, and I am not saying the significance of a place, however it’s laborious in a variety of bands to get a fill-in singer. “It’s. It’s, ‘trigger persons are used to her or him being the entrance particular person and the way they interact with the gang, and the way they work, and the voice — all the things. And in order that’s one other factor Rob was actually involved about, which makes absolute sense.”
“And in our private conversations, he was saying, ‘It might be simpler for us to discover a fill-in for me for just a few dates than it’s for you.’ And he mentioned that selflessly, however mainly when it boils all the way down to it, everybody in Demise Angel is a vital a part of Demise Angel, however I do know as a fan of various bands, when you went to go see Demise Angel with out me or Rob for that one present, there’s gonna be an excessive amount of individuals on the market that say, like, ‘Properly, I bought form of robbed.’ That sucks. And that is simply form of the character of the beast and the character of the historical past of this band. With all bands, that is simply how it’s. It is like when you went to see Sabbath and so they had a fill-in for Tony Iommi. You would be, like, ‘Oh.’ They usually’re an exception.”
“There have been bands which have changed lead singers. Clearly, AC/DC and Sabbath are the 2 primest examples. And Iron Maiden. There is a handful. But it surely’s not a typical prevalence that it really works out so swimmingly and efficiently.”
