Death Angel, one the founding bands of the San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal scene, continued their long-running tradition of playing special hometown shows during the holiday season with two sold-out shows at Slim's this past weekend. The band also teamed up with the United Way, Jackson, ESP, Peral Drums, Teac, Dunlop Electronics, Meini Cymbals and Vic Firth to raise money for the victims of the recent Northern California wildfires with this year's performances.

Having returned to the Bay Area after a European tour with Testament and Annihilator just a couple of days prior, Death Angel still managed to put on their usual trash metal clinic, showing absolutely no signs of being road weary. The set lists varied both nights, with a few surprises along the way. As always, the band reached deep into their back catalog, and over the duration of the two evenings they dusted off "3rd Floor," "Mistress of Pain," "Voracious Souls" and "Kill As One." They also tore through both "Breakaway" and "The Moth," from their latest record, The Evil Divide.

Highlights from the shows included a cover of the Beatles "Don't Let Me Down," as well as a blistering take on Charged G.B.H's "Diplomatic Immunity," where they were joined by Rancid guitarist Lars Frederiksen, who supported Death Angel both nights with his other band, The Old Firm Casuals. On Saturday he also accompanied Death Angel in a tribute to the late Malcolm Young, as they covered the AC/DC classic, "Dog Eat Dog."

With the help of longtime Bay Area musician and recently turned stand-up comedian Sean Boyles (who served as MC for both nights) the band paused their set for a few moments each night to raffle off some prizes, including a Teac turntable with select Death Angel vinyl, cymbals and snare drums, and a signature Ted Aguilar TED-600 ESP guitar on Friday, as well as a Jackson​​ Monarkh SC on Saturday, with 100 percent of the raffle ticket proceeds being donated to the fire victims.

The Old Firm Casuals were the perfect band to support Death Angel for these shows, as Frederiksen is known to be a big thrash metal fan. Their street-punk sound definitely had the sold-out crowd energized and up to the front of the stage.

As the weekend came to an end, Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda stated that this would be their last shows until May of 2018. And they definitely ended this run on a high note, as it was clear that once again these shows were a success. Osegueda has often alluded to the idea that a Death Angel show is a celebration of music, but this weekend it was also a celebration of the holidays, life and rebuilding. See our photo gallery from the two weekend performances below.

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