The band's current lineup includes drummer Gene Hoglan, guitarists Eric Meyer and Laura Christine, frontman Ron Rinehart and bassist Mike Gonzalez.

Dark Angel's over-the-top style (extremely fast, heavy and lengthy songs with many tempo changes, lyrics, and extended instrumental parts) earned them the nickname "The L.A. Caffeine Machine".

[5][6][7] Dark Angel was formed in 1981 under the name Shellshock in Downey, California, right around the time when the Bay Area thrash metal movement was beginning to take place.

Dark Angel promoted We Have Arrived with its first ever tour, opening for bands like Slayer, Megadeth, Venom, Savage Grace, Corrosion of Conformity, Possessed, D.R.I., Exodus and Agent Steel.

And obviously, the real sign that something was wrong was when he backed out of the tour just a few days before the first date, which forced us to hire Jim Drabos to replace him.

[9][11] Around this time, Dave Mustaine asked guitarist Eric Meyer to join Megadeth, but he declined in order to stay with Dark Angel.

[12] In January 1989, Dark Angel released its third studio album Leave Scars, which was their first release with Rinehart on vocals and Mike Gonzalez on bass, and their last with guitarist Jim Durkin, who left the band during a tour with Death and was replaced by former Viking guitarist Brett Eriksen, leaving the band with no remaining original members.

Hogland recalled Durkin's departure, "It’s a rather nebulous story, and I’ve never really gone into it with Jim, but there was something going on in his life that mandated that he pretty much leave the tour right this minute.

[14] Leave Scars received positive reviews from music critics, and saw the band garner media attention and publicity, with coverage from Kerrang!

[15][16] In support of the album, they toured throughout 1989 and 1990 with several bands, including Death, Nuclear Assault, Acid Reign, Candlemass and Overkill.

[19] To promote Time Does Not Heal, Dark Angel embarked on the "Years of Pain" world tour, supported by such bands as Exhorder, Mordred and Re-Animator.

He achieved greater attention during the mid-1990s playing with Death, at the same time that bandleader Chuck Schuldiner was taking his band into a more progressive style.

Subsequently, he recorded one album with Bay Area thrash metal band Testament, and made the acquaintance of Canadian multi-instrumentalist Devin Townsend, forging a lasting friendship.

[21] However, the band officially reformed in 2002 with a new lineup that included Ron Rinehart on vocals, Eric Meyer on guitar, Danyael Williams on bass and Gene Hoglan on drums.

[citation needed] On August 10, 2013, it was reported that Dark Angel had reunited with original vocalist Don Doty, and would headline Keep It True XVII festival in Germany in April 2014.

It was also reported that drummer Gene Hoglan, guitarists Eric Meyer and Justin Zych, and bassist Mike Gonzalez would be involved in the reunion.

"[27] On September 4, 2013, Dark Angel's management confirmed that the band would be reuniting for "limited number of appearances in the U.S. and select festivals in Europe" in 2014, and added that the dates were "still pending" and had "not yet been booked at this time."

[30] On April 5, 2016, it was announced that Dark Angel would celebrate their 30th anniversary by playing a show on October 8 at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

[36] During his appearance on Death Angel guitarist Ted Aguilar's Alive & Streaming internet show in August 2020, Hoglan revealed that the band was still "attempting to write" their new album.

[43] On July 25, 2024, Hoglan confirmed in a video message posted on social media that Dark Angel has begun recording their new album and he had "just finished the drums to" it.