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Dark Angel Guitarist Jim Durkin Dead at 58, Cause of Death Unknown

Jim Durkin Dark Angel

Jim Durkin, Dark Angels founding member, guitarist, and songwriter, died from unknown causes at the age of 58 in Los Angeles. Without him, the band’s three hugely influential albums “We Have Arrived“, “Darkness Descends” and “Leave Scars” would have never happened. He departed the band in 1989 and returned in 2013.

“Darkness Descends” is considered by many in the metal community as “the greatest thrash metal album of all time” and even influenced bands like Slayer.

Statement From Family

News of his passing was shared by his wife, Annie, on Facebook:

“With a broken and heavy heart, I want to share that the love of my life, my best friend and husband, Jimmy, passed away Wednesday morning. He was not alone as I was with him along with a few close friends until the end. He will be truly missed and no one can ever replace the love I have for him. May he rest in peace. Ever Thine, Ever Mine, Ever Ours … My Immortal Beloved. I will see you again.”

Statement From Band

The band also confirmed Durkin’s passing: “We in the Dark Angel family are deeply saddened and crushed today with the news of our brother and founder Jimmy Durkin passing away Wednesday morning. We would like to thank his fans for their continuous loyalty and support. We will come out with a full statement very soon. We ask that you please respect the family’s privacy while we mourn the loss of this great man.”

LA Shows

Jim was still active in Dark Angel as the only original member at the time of his passing. The band was even slated to play three sold-out shows in Los Angeles at the Teragram, playing the entire “Darkness Descends” album.

It is unknown if these shows will go on.

Video

From the 1988 “Ultimate Revenge 2”

2014 Finland

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Killer Old-School Thrash / Death Metal Vinyl, CD & Cassette Collection I Got From North Carolina

Killer Old-School Thrash header

Sadly, I have been getting many collections I have been buying lately because the original owners have passed away. I picked up this killer old-school thrash, death, and black metal from the original owner’s family through the mail from North Carolina after they had cleaned out his storage area.

In it were a ton of great out-of-print rarities, and I have outlined some of the gems below.

Gems From This Collection

Sodom – Agent Orange LP 1989 R/C Records – RC 9480 – Excellent original copy of Sodom’s 1987 thrash metal classic “Agent Orange” still in its original shrink wrap.

Death Angel – The Ultra-Violence LP 1987 Enigma – ST-73253 – Another great thrash metal record from 1987 and the best by Death Angel, still in its original shrink wrap with hype stickers.

Exhorder – Slaughter in the Vatican CD 1991 Roadrunner – RO 93632 – Kill first pressing of Exhorer’s debut album and a pricey and rare CD.

Slayer – Hell Awaits CD 1986 Combat – 88561-8020-2 – An actual real first pressing of Slayer’s “Hell Awaits” with the orange back panel. I have never even seen one of these before. Very rare.

Sepultura – Morbid Visions CD 1990 New Renaissance Records – NRCD43 – This a an OG on New Renaissance Records, as you can tell by the insanely simple rear-panel layout.

Have A Collection Like This To Sell?

I am always buying metal collections like you see in the post. Use this contact into to get ahold of me.