November '09
Artist Spotlight: Richard Z
of Rammstein
September '09
Interview: Shaun Glass and Dirge Within
Artist Spotlight: Doc Coyle
of God Forbid
August '09
Artist Spotlight: Will Adler (Lamb of God)
July '09
Artist Spotlight: Page Hamilton of Helmet
Winner's Circle: Mayem Sweepstakes
AVAILABLE FALL 2009: The new James Hetfield Truckster... now in black!
ESP and Spinefarm Records bring you Children of Bodom Fall 2009 North American Tour
Download Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 Go for free and enter for a chance to win an LTD KH-602
Coming Soon: ESP Artist Podcasts
June '09
Hot New Models Coming This Fall!
Winner's Circle: "No Fear" Music Tour Sweepstakes
Get Rockin Now with an LTD Guitar or Bass Pack!
April '09
ESP Congratulates Metallica for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
ESP Artists Top Guitar World Reader's Poll!
New ESPs at 2009 Musikmesse Show!
March '09
Will Adler Appearance at Sam Ash Hollywood
ESP Gets in the Game with Guitar Hero: Metallica
February '09
Artist Interview: Ted Aguilar of Death Angel
ESP mourns the loss of Metal Mulisha rider Jeremy Lusk
January '09
ESP Announces New Models for 2009
New Kirk Hammett & James Hetfield Signature Series
ESP's Signature Series Gets 18 New Models at NAMM 2009
Artist Spotlight: Fred LeClercq of DragonForce
20 Years With ESP: Page Hamilton
ESP Artists Receive Grammy Nominations
ESP Artists Featured in Upcoming Comic Series
ESP on MySpace: Are you our friend?
Editorʼs Note: This interview with Ted was done by Jeremy Wagner of Lupara, another fine guitar player and friend of ESP.
The name Death Angel is a respected and legendary moniker in the world of thrash. Formed in San Francisco, California in 1982 by cousins Rob Cavestany (lead guitar), Dennis Pepa (vocals, bass), Gus Pepa (rhythm guitar), and Andy Galeon (drums), the band released their first demo, Heavy Metal Insanity, in 1986, the band recorded the Kill As One demo with Metallica's Kirk Hammett (whom they had met at a record store signing in 1983) as producer. Due to the underground tape trading wave of the early 1980s, the demo was distributed extensively and brought the band to the attention of a still-wider audience.
The success of Kill As One led to a record deal with Enigma Records who released Death Angel's debut album, The Ultra-Violence, in 1987. The band recorded the album when all the band members were still under 20 years old, and the album sold 40,000 copies in just four months. Geffen Records bought out the band's contract with Enigma Records in 1989 and released the third Death Angel album, Act III in 1990.
Shortly after 1990, the band went on a permanent hiatus. Death Angel officially reunited in August 2001 for Thrash of the Titans, a cancer benefit show for Testament frontman Chuck Billy. Unfortunately, original guitarist Gus Pepa couldn't participate in the reunion since he was out of the country. At Rob Cavestany's suggestion and with Gus's blessing, the remaining band members enlisted their longtime friend and fan, Ted Aguilar, to handle rhythm guitar duties. Originally planned as a one-off show, the band received such a positive response that the show led not only to a string of other well-received gigs around the San Francisco area, but also a pair of European tours – despite the band not having issued an album in over a decade.
In 2004, 14 years after their last album, the band at last released The Art of Dying on Nuclear Blast records. Recorded at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, California, Killing Season was released on February 26, 2008.
ESP Guitars caught up with Death Angel guitarist at his Bay Area home:
How did you begin your road as a guitarist?
It started back when I was a little kid. My older brother played guitar and I was always like a little runt that kinda like followed him around, and yʼknow, checked out what he was doing. And he was always into bands like Zeppelin, Sabbath, and yʼknow, Maiden and Priest.
I started branching off and checking out more underground shit like, Metallica, basically. When, Kill ʻEm All came out it was like, wow, thatʼs intense-ass music. Hearing about them, reading about them in fanzines, and seeing some bootleg videos, I was totally into Metallica. I was like, “Man, when I get little older—cause I was just a young kid—I wanna be just like those guys, doinʼ what theyʼre doinʼ.”
I thought at that time, when you got a little older, you did that, until I discovered Death Angel, who were just young kids from the Bay Area—me and Andy (Galeon) were about the same age at the time. When I discovered them, through fanzines and word-of-mouth and tape-trading, I was like, ʻWhoa, well, you donʼt actually need to be a little older to start a band. So, Iʼm just gonna start right now!ʼ
I started at an early age, like 3rd or 4th grade. I just really progressed, through high school, and started jamming out with friends and it just picked up from there. Iʼve been in whole bunch of local bands in the Bay Area. Iʼve always been into music and I really got a cool break when Death Angel asked me to the band in like 2001.
Relevant to forming as a guitarist, who are your influences?
Metallica for sure. I think Metallica is a great influence on everyone. I would like to think every metal band on this earth is influenced by Metallica in one way, shape, or form. I mean the first 3 albums are very influential and legendary, yʼknow what I mean? Especially the albums with Cliff (Burton). I think Justice and the Black album are very influential, maybe not as deep as the first 3, but Metallica strikes something there with a lot of fans. They were the first to come out strong with Kill ʻEm All, and they were one first to take a chance with “Fade To Black” at the time. By the time Ride the Lightning came out, you had Exodusʼ Bonded By Blood was coming out and all these bands were in your face and it was great. All these bands were thrash and yʼknow, thrash at its best, and I think Metallica went way beyond when they tried to do “Fade To Black”. At the end of the day, it turned out to be a great song, yʼknow?
The first time I got to see Metallica on the Master of Puppets tour opening for Ozzy. I got to see them at San Francisco at the Cow Palace. Oh man, it was cool. To see Cliff…Metallica and Ozzy…it was insane. I got to witness it! The rest of Death Angel got to see Metallica so many times and have told me so many stories.
What was cool about a lot of the (old) Bay Area scene which is pretty known, there was all these bands: Death Angel, Forbidden, Exodus, Vio-lence, Testament, and others like, Heathen, Laaz Rocket, and all that. You go to all the shows—before all they were even signed—and the place would be packed. I mean, the scene was really healthy. Everyone would come out and check each other, yʼknow, support each other. It was great.
Another thing about the Bay Area bands, too, is like, they were pretty known for their crunch tone. Know what I mean? That was pretty awesome. Also each band sounded different, they were fresh, and sounded different. You could tell who was who. Itʼs hard nowadays, especially in metal music, to decipher who is who. But back then, you could put on a Vio-lence record and know its Vio-lence and out on a Forbidden record and know its Forbidden.
When did you first hear of ESP guitars (timeline and where)?
The first time I ever heard of ESP guitars was actually, Dokken. George Lynch. I donʼt know what video…I believe it was the “In My Dreams” video. A Kamikaze…if I can remember right, I was like, ʻMan, thatʼs a badass guitarʼ. Yʼknow? George was rippinʼ. So that was the first time I was introduced to ESP. I heard of B.C. Rich, Charvel, Jacksons, Gibsons, and whatnot. But then I saw ESP, and I was like ʻWhoa!ʼ When George Lynch busted out with it, I thought the graphics and the guitar looked really cool. And it even looked cooler when he was shredding! Know what I mean? I was like, ʻWow, man. Thatʼs fucking rad!ʼ So, thatʼs the first time I heard of ESP, dude.
And after that, I wanted one after I saw Kirk—Kirk Hammett—had one. I was like, ʻWhoa, thatʼs a nice guitar.ʼ Iʼm into metal, Metallicaʼs metal... and Kirk had that ESP ( I donʼt know which one), but I was like, I gotta have that one because it looked cool, heʼs playing it, and the ESP logo looked cool. The whole package looked cool. I was like, I gotta get me one of those one of these day. But, they were just a little too pricey at the time for a young kid (laughs).
What was the first ESP model you ever owned?
A friend of mine was selling one of his ESPʼs in 1997, it was actually a Viper. I was playing B.C. Rich before that. I always wanted an ESP, regardless of what model, and I picked it up from my friend. I still own it to this day. Ever since I picked up that Viper I started using it a lot. I started picking up a lot of ESPʼs after that, because they just sound and feel right for me.
What features appeal to you with your ESPʼs?
The feel of an ESP is great. I like how it feels and it sounds really good. You donʼt have to worry about banging it up, they still hold up really well and stay in-tune, and they just sound good.
What ESP models are in your collection?
I have assorted ESPʼs. I got like 2 Vipers, 4 Eclipses. My white Eclipse sounds and feels the greatest out of all of them.
What ESP models go along on a Death Angel tour?
With Death Angel, I usually take 3 Eclipses with me on tour. I have a sunburst Eclipse, a white Eclipse, and a green custom Eclipse. Probably the favorite one would be the white one. I donʼt know, something about it feels right and it sounds really good so I use it for all these songs Death Angel plays like off the “Ultraviolence” and “Killing Season”…anything that requires that nice heaviness and power. In our set, thereʼs tuning in Eflat… a half-step down from standard, so we have 2 guitars…1 is for a backup. Then we have 3 songs that are dropped C-sharp, so we have to have a guitar for that.
Before your tenure, Death Angel had a demo produced by Metallicaʼs Kirk Hammett in 1986. Does Death Angel still have a relationship with Kirk?
Mark (Osegueda – vocals), has the best relationship with Kirk. Actually, Mark is probably one of Kirkʼs greatest friends. Mark likes to keep in touch with Kirk and they hang out a lot. I know him, but Markʼs the closest to him.
Relevant to Kirk, heʼs a major signature artist for ESP. Have you ever met him and talked guitars?
Iʼve met Kirk a lot of time in passing. Kirk came out to our Killing Season record release show at Slimʼs (San Francisco club) last year. I actually got to meet him again at the last Metallica show here in Oakland in December. Right after the show…I got to talk to Kirk for a little bit. I never got a chance to talk about guitars with him. I would love to. I would like to sit down and talk guitars. He uses a lot of ESPʼs. I would like to talk to Kirk about guitars and talk to James (Hetfield) about tone! (Laughs).
Any words to the ESP family and fans?
I want to send my thanks to ESP. I play ESP because I like the product, yʼknow what I mean? Iʼve seen my idols play ESP, and I wanted to get them, and when I got them, I could see why they play ʻem. They just sound great, feel great, and look great, yʼknow? I just want to thank ESP for putting me on board and taking care of me really well. Theyʼre just a bunch of great people; Allen and Mark... I finally met Matt, a super-cool guy at NAMM. Everyone on the roster; great players, great bands, and everyone Iʼve ever met on the roster have been super-cool. If it feels comfortable for me, itʼs me, then Iʼm gonna stick with it!
Ted Aguilar—ESP Profile:
• ECLIPSE-II SW
• ECLIPSE-II ACSB
• ECLIPSE-II CREAM
• EC-1000 BLK
• H-1000 BLK
• 2 Custom Viper BLK
• Custom Eclipse (Green)
Tedʼs 3 touring guitars:
• ECLIPSE-II SW
• ECLIPSE-II ACSB
• CUSTOM ECLIPSE (GREEN).
*NOTE: The ECLIPSE-II SW is Tedʼs main guitar he begins shows with. It's the one that sounds & feels the best for him and he adds, “It looks bad ass.”
