Darkness Descends is the second studio album by the American thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 band Dark Angel

Dark Angel (band)

Dark Angel was an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Their over-the-top style earned them the nickname "the L.A...

. The album is the first to feature drummer Gene Hoglan

Gene Hoglan

Eugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...

. Rob Yahn was replaced with Mike Gonzalez by the time this album was released, however, Gonzalez was given credit over Yahn on the album sleeve. The album is considered a classic in the thrash genre.

Track listing

1998 Century Media re-release

Studio

• Don Doty - Vocals
• Eric Meyer
  Eric Meyer (musician)
  Eric Meyer was the long time lead guitarist for the Los Angeles based thrash metal band Dark Angel. He joined the band in 1984 and played on all of their recorded albums from We Have Arrived onwards....
  
   - Lead guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Jim Durkin - Lead guitar
• Rob Yahn - Bass
  Bassist
  A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
  
   (Uncredited: performs on 1986 release)
• Gene Hoglan
  Gene Hoglan
  Eugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...
  
   - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  

Live

• Ron Rinehart
  Ron Rinehart
  Ron Rinehart is an American thrash metal vocalist. He was the lead singer for the American thrash metal band Dark Angel from 1988 after the departure of previous vocalist Don Doty until the band's dissolution in 1992....
  
  - Vocals
• Mike Gonzalez - Bass (credited on 1986 release does not perform)