Death Angel has released new, exclusive content via their official YouTube channel, featuring a candid reflection from frontman Mark Osegueda about his 1992 audition for Anthrax. Pulled from the band’s 2024 “Another Death Angel Xmas Show” livestream, the clip details Osegueda‘s experience trying out for the legendary thrash band and the exact, complimentary reason he didn’t get the job.
Osegueda confirmed a long-standing story detailed in Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian‘s memoir, which he has even been asked to autograph by fans.
“I’ve signed that page in Scott‘s book, and he even says, ‘We got down to Mark, and he was too metal for us. He sounded too metal for us,'” Osegueda recounted. “And I was, like, ‘Well, there you go.’ That’s a compliment. I’ve signed that page at signing sessions, that I was too metal for ’em.”
Osegueda explained that the audition came after Anthrax parted ways with Joey Belladonna and Osegueda was no longer in Death Angel.
“I was living in New York and they called me,” he said. “I remember at one time they had a large cattle call for everyone, but there were certain people they flew in. I was one of ’em. I went down to Burbank, I believe, and auditioned. It was a great hang. It was a great jam.”
He confirmed the finalists he heard were in the running: “I know at one point… they narrowed it down to me, John Bush [from Armored Saint] and this guy, at the time, Spike [Xavier] from the band Mind Over Four.”
Ultimately, Osegueda fully supported Anthrax‘s final decision to hire John Bush, stating it was the correct move for that era of the band.
“I also heard from people in the band that they narrowed it down to me and John Bush… and to tell you the truth, I think they made the right decision,” Osegueda stated. “For the era and the time, they made the absolute right decision going with John Bush… I love John. And that era was perfect. What they were looking for, that was the guy they were looking for.”
Osegueda remains one of the most active vocalists in metal. In addition to fronting Death Angel, he is also the celebrated vocalist for Slayer guitarist Kerry King‘s solo band, which released its debut album, From Hell I Rise, in May 2024.
His main band, Death Angel, is also in a major resurgent period. The group released “Wrath (Bring Fire)” in May 2025, their first new music since their 2019 Grammy-nominated album, Humanicide. The band is now set to embark on a Fall 2025 U.S. tour, performing their classic 1990 album, Act III, in its entirety, with support from Vio-lence, Lions at the Gate, and Misfire.
