The Blind Illusion Stage Flight live album is out today. Stage Flight: Live at the UC Theatre arrives Oct. 16, 2026, as a 12-inch vinyl LP through Hectic Records and Bleeding Priest Records, per Blabbermouth. It was recorded in Berkeley the night Exodus celebrated 40 years of Bonded by Blood, with original Blind Illusion singer David White back on the mic.
There’s a San Diego angle, too. Our own Nukem opened that same sold-out UC Theatre bill.
What’s on the Blind Illusion Stage Flight LP
The label’s product page at Hectic Records calls it a 2025 live performance of Blind Illusion’s early demos, reunited with White, who it notes is also known from Heathen. Every track was recorded at the UC Theatre on April 25, 2025, except a bonus cut from 1983. Here’s the Blind Illusion Stage Flight track list as Hectic prints it:
- Side A: “Destroyer,” “Banshee,” “Glass Guillotine,” “Blind Sun”
- Side B: “Arc the Iron,” “Kamakazi,” “Smash the Crystal,” “Rockers Unite” (bonus track, live at the Old Waldorf, 1983)
Hectic marks where each song comes from. “Destroyer,” “Banshee” and “Glass Guillotine” are from the 1984 demo Trilogy of Terror. “Blind Sun” and “Arc the Iron” are from the 1983 demo. “Kamakazi” and “Smash the Crystal” are from The Sane Asylum. (Blabbermouth spells that album track “Kamikaze.” Hectic’s listing uses “Kamakazi.”)
The physical details, per Hectic: black vinyl, a four-page color insert, limited to 500 copies worldwide, $25. Blabbermouth adds that it’s pressed at 33 RPM. That 500-copy cap is the main thing to know about the Blind Illusion Stage Flight pressing if you want one.
The night it was recorded
The show was billed as Exodus “40 Years of Blood.” Exodus first announced the Berkeley and Anaheim dates as two Bonded by Blood 40th-anniversary shows on the weekend of late original singer Paul Baloff’s birthday, April 25. Exodus played the album in full, Death Angel were direct support, and Blind Illusion and Nukem opened the Berkeley date. The UC Theatre’s event listing showed the same bill, Exodus with Death Angel, Blind Illusion and Nukem, on Friday, April 25, 2025, and marked it sold out.
Exodus made it a big one. Blabbermouth’s show report says former guitarist Rick Hunolt and early bassist Jeff Andrews joined them that night, and the set included a “Happy Birthday” for Baloff.
Blabbermouth says the Blind Illusion Stage Flight recording grew straight out of that set. It was Blind Illusion’s reunion with White, and the band later played The Sane Asylum in full for the first time at Frost and Fire V in Ventura.
Who played
White is the one confirmed name on the Blind Illusion Stage Flight recording. Blabbermouth lists Blind Illusion’s current lineup as Mark Biedermann on lead guitar and vocals, Martin Lacour on lead guitar, Avery Thurman on bass and Phil Cosentini on drums. Neither the label nor Blabbermouth spells out who else is on the April 2025 tape, so we’re not going to guess.
For newer fans, some background from Blabbermouth: Blind Illusion formed in 1978. Their debut, The Sane Asylum, came out in 1988 with Biedermann alongside guitarist Larry Lalonde, bassist Les Claypool and drummer Mike Miner. Biedermann also played on four songs on Blue Öyster Cult’s Imaginos. Demon Master followed in 2010, Death Angel drummer Andy Galeon played on 2022’s Wrath of the Gods, and the current lineup came together in 2024.
The Nukem connection
Nukem are a San Diego thrash band, and they were booked for both nights of that Exodus weekend. Along with Berkeley, the same Exodus announcement listed Hirax and Nukem as openers for the Anaheim House of Blues date on April 26, 2025. The Blind Illusion Stage Flight release doesn’t include any Nukem material. It’s still a good reminder of the company the local guys keep.
We last caught Nukem closer to home at the San Diego Metal Swap Meet 2026, where they played before Sanctuary. Our swap meet preview has more on that bill.
Where to get it
The Blind Illusion Stage Flight LP is on the Hectic Records site now. Hectic’s listing doesn’t mention a digital or CD version, so for now it’s vinyl only as far as we can tell. No Blind Illusion San Diego date has been announced. We’ll post one if it turns up.
SDMETAL
