Dark Angel Guitarist Jim Durkin Passed Away At the Age of 58
Jim Durkin, an original member of the Californian thrash metal band Dark Angel, passed away on Wednesday, March 8th, 2023. Jim Durkin’s death was reported earlier today on his official Facebook page by his wife Annie (Friday, March 10).
Jim Durkin had recently sat out concerts. Laura Christine, a guitarist who also performs with Nukem and Warface, has been standing in for him. The guitarist was a member of Dark Angel from 1983 to 1989 and again from 2013 to 2023. Durkin also contributed to the full-length albums We Have Come, Darkness Descends, and Leave Scars by the band.
Dark Angel was working on a new studio album and had three scheduled full-length performances of their 1986 hit song, Darkness Descends. Jim Durkin was also a member of Dreams of Damnation, who published the 2006 album Epic Tales of Vengeance. He also played briefly with Los Angeles heavy metal band Ruthless and released two recordings with Pagan War Machine in the early 2000s. He was also a member of the Shellshock band before joining Dark Angel.
On his Facebook page, his wife Annie wrote this:
“With a broken and heavy heart, I want to share that the love of my life, my best friend and husband, Jimmy, passed away Wednesday morning. He was not alone as I was with him along with a few close friends until the end. He will be truly missed and no one can ever replace the love I have for him. May he rest in peace.
Ever Thine, Ever Mine, Ever Ours……. My Immortal Beloved. I will see you again.”
Also, Dark Angel shared a statement about Jim Durkin’s death news:
“We in the Dark Angel Family are deeply saddened and crushed today with the news of our brother and founder Jimmy Durkin passing away Wednesday morning. We would like to thank his fans for their continuous loyalty and support. We will come out with a full statement very soon. We ask that you please respect the family’s privacy while we mourn the loss of this great man.”
The band that has performed infrequent live gigs since reforming in 2013 was intended to appear on Dark Angel’s first CD since 1991’s “Time Does Not Heal”: Hoglan, Durkin, Eric Meyer (guitar), Ron Rinehart (vocals), and Michael Gonzalez (bass).
Gene Hoglan announced on a Twitch live stream from his house in February 2022 that he and his Dark Angel bandmates were “in the process” of creating a new album. Gene Hoglan added: “Jim Durkin and I both have a lot of work ahead of us. He’s been sending over tunes, riffs, and other cool stuff. We’re all in the same mindset of creating this the most utterly badass Dark Angel record possible.”
Check the Jimmy Durkin wife’s FB statement below!
David Ellefson also wrote this on Facebook:
“Super sad to hear of the passing of our thrash metal brother Jim Durkin of Dark Angel. Back in 1983 he had auditioned and played guitar at a few rehearsals with us in Megadeth after Greg Handevidt departed and just before Kerry King sat in on guitar for the 1984 shows in the San Francisco Bay area. In fact, we may have even borrowed some of Jim’s Marshall amps and cabs to complete our amplifier backline for those debut shows in February 1984.”
