Blind Illusion Capture Bay Area Thrash History on “Stage Flight”

Nearly five decades after Blind Illusion first formed, Stage Flight: Live At The UC Theatre captures the band treating its history as something active—performed at full volume rather than stored behind glass.

A Berkeley performance becomes a record

Due October 16 through Hectic Records and Bleeding Priest Records, the album documents Blind Illusion’s April 25, 2025 performance at the UC Theatre in Berkeley. The night formed part of a celebration around Exodus and the 40th anniversary of Bonded by Blood.

Original Blind Illusion vocalist David White joined the current lineup, connecting the band’s earliest identity to the musicians carrying it forward today. The set draws on early demos and material associated with the group’s influential progressive-thrash catalog.

Eight tracks and one archival bridge

The release includes “Destroyer,” “Banshee,” “Glass Guillotine,” “Blind Sun,” “Arc the Iron,” “Kamakazi” and “Smash the Crystal,” plus a bonus performance of “Rockers Unite” recorded at the Old Waldorf in 1983.

That bonus track gives the album a second time stamp. Rather than presenting one isolated concert, Stage Flight creates a line between the early Bay Area underground and a contemporary stage where the same music is still being tested in front of an audience.

A limited physical document

The vinyl edition is pressed at 33 RPM and limited to 500 copies worldwide. Its four-page color insert reinforces the project’s role as a physical record of a specific moment, not simply another stream in an endless feed.

Blind Illusion’s current lineup features Mark Biedermann on lead guitar and vocals, Martin Lacour on lead guitar, Avery Thurman on bass and Phil Cosentini on drums, with White appearing on vocals for the captured performance.

Digital pre-orders and the limited vinyl edition are available through the band and label’s official pages.