Ex-DARK ANGEL Singer DON DOTY Says His New Recording Of 'Darkness Descends' Wasn't Meant To Be Taken Seriously

DJ Outkast of Nuclear Rock Radio recently conducted an interview with former DARK ANGEL and current ELIMINATE vocalist Don Doty. You can now listen to the chat using the Mixcloud widget below.

Asked about the recently released audio recording (hear below) of him singing DARK ANGEL‘s classic song “Darkness Descends”, which has been widely criticized for its poor quality, Doty said: “When it came down to… Man, I was just sick as a frickin’ dog, man. I mean, I was out. And when I came back around, I wanted to sing. ‘Cause I missed practice and I wanted to sing. I downloaded this program — I kid you not — about ten minutes prior. I didn’t know how to run it or anything. And I saw the ‘record’ button, so I hit it. Now, am I gonna put out something with my own voice in the background? I mean, that’s cheesy. That’s not gonna be a production; that’s not gonna be a studio quality by any means. Anybody who listened to it would know off the top. C’mon! That is so low budget, that’s not even a budget. That’s because there was none. There was no studio. I did it out of a three-dollar… I think the mic cost me three bucks. I don’t know… I got it online some place overseas. You know the headset that you put on?! That’s what I sang it through. At least [I thought] it [would be] obvious to everybody else that listened to it. They [would be] all, like, ‘Hey, nobody’s gonna take this serious.’ I go, ‘I know. Listen to the cracked voice. That’s a joke. Everybody outta get a kick out of it, right?!’ And to see it go that far, I just kind of stepped back and went, ‘Well, you know what?! When the time comes and they really see what’s going on, they ain’t gonna be nothing but impressed.’ ‘Cause that right there — you can’t even count it. I don’t count it. That’s I didn’t even take second note of it. Whenever you gave me a call, it was, ‘Are you serious?’ C’mon, you can listen to it and know that’s wrong.”

Doty also spoke about the people who have doubt he can come back and deliver the goods after being away from the metal scene for three decades. He said:”It’s like this: Fifty percent of the people are gonna love me, and the other fifty percent are gonna hate me. Either way… It’s never been my big thing. I’m out here for the fans that wanna come and enjoy some old-school music. And hey, if they show, that’s the only reason why I’m here. You’re gonna see the real me when the LP comes out. You’re gonna see the real me when you come to the show. You’re gonna see what I’ve really got when you see me. And believe me, I’m not scared to sing in front of anybody. I’m here for the fans that want music, and I’m gonna give it to ’em. I don’t have time for the other people. If they wanna hate, that’s on them.”

Regarding his absence from DARK ANGEL‘s current reunion, which includes Gene Hoglan (drums), Eric Meyer (guitar), Jim Durkin (guitar), Ron Rinehart (vocals) and Michael Gonzalez (bass), Doty said: “You remember the whole situation. You know damn well that I started that [reunion talk]. You know damn well that that was all my doing. I’m the one who booked the Sweden Rock. I’m the one who booked… I booked those shows. Granted, Gene came along and he’s got a little bit more time in the business than I did. And more power to him. And more power to the guys too. If that’s what they feel, hey, great. But to me? If they think they’re gonna be over the top of whatever…? And I watched the shows [on video]. I mean, I don’t wanna bag on nobody, and I don’t wanna put anybody down… They were all right. Over the top? You make the call.”

DARK ANGEL released two albums with Doty on vocals — 1984’s “We Have Arrived” and 1986’s “Darkness Descends” — before he exited the group and was replaced by Ron Rinehart (after a brief stint with Jim Drabos in 1987).

DARK ANGEL‘s management slammed Don Doty in 2013 for displaying a “lack of responsibility” by posting “false information” and starting “unfounded rumors” that had been “creating confusion” among the group’s fans.

DARK ANGEL guitarist Jim Durkin shot down the possibility of the band reuniting with Doty, explaining: “[Rinehart] was our rock when we needed him and there is NO WAY I would do this without him. He and I talk daily and are as close now as ever.”

Asked what he has been doing since leaving DARK ANGEL in 1987, Doty told Germany’s Radio Gehacktes: “It’s a long story, and at the same time, it’s a short one. I basically started a family and showed up to my last show [with DARK ANGEL] and told the guys, ‘Hey, look, [I have a] baby [on the way] and I can’t be on the road and do the family thing; it was just too hard for me. There were too many beautiful women in the world and there were too many other opportunities to go off the deep end, and I just could not do that. So with that being said, I took a step back and I told the guys, ‘There will be a day and I will come back and we will finish what we started.”

Doty in 2013 announced the formation of a new band called ELIMINATE with drummer Sasha Horn (FORBIDDEN), guitarists Scott Owen (ex-HIRAX) and Henry Elizondo (DEVASTATION) and bassist John Signorelli (SUBVERSION).