Having been branded a crossover band (between thrash, punk and hardcore) back in mid to late 80s, Los Angeles based Hirax with Katon W. De Pena at the helm decided to pursue a heavier sound. The result was signage to Metal Blade records and getting featured on widely-known Metal Massacre VI compilation alongside the finest. The band was ideally setup to conquer all and found themselves at the forefront of the Bay Area scene alongside Exodus and Death Angel. As the band never intended to alter their sound by outside influences, Hirax’s problems started to accumulate. Loss of the label was soon followed by members dropping out like flies and by end of 1988 seemingly it was over.
Reincarnated in the new millennium, the band released an EP ‘El Diablo Negro’ and the painful history was just a small memory at the back of the cerebellum. The band has finally come of age with some solid releases including 2004’s ‘The New Age of Terror’ which has been hailed as the best return to form album of the year if not of the genre at the time. Now if only Katon can keep a steady lineup…
Hirax – Thrash ‘Till Death is bomb of death, an unleashing of war dogs, and a fantastic follow up to the 2004 masterpiece. The 2 hour DVD will showcase to you everything that is HIRAX: playing pure uncompromised fucking old school thrash metal. The entire 2005 performance at the Minneapolis Mayhem Festival 2 is on it as well as tons of bonus footage from various major metal festivals across Europe recorded over the years with number of different lineups and some guest musicians. Here, the singer pays tribute to underground metal, fallen brothers in metal, countries and continents (no Australia) that have supported them thus far, drinkers and hell raisers and even large women of metal, stressing how Hirax will never betray their legions of fans and never will they follow any trend. Another dimension was added to the band when Jake Starr (Ex. Virgin Steele) guest appeared on guitar on the track ‘Mouth Sewn Shut’ during their set at Bang Your Head Open Air 2003 Fest in Germany. Lineup changes have certainly made this band quite unique. Expect a different one for their latest EP some time this year.
The most impressive out of the 15 killer thrashers were surprisingly ‘Killswitch’ and ‘The New Age Of Terror’ (songs of their latest full length). Katon’s high pitched screeches are vicious as is his solid deep vocal range and at this age is still a force to be reckoned with. Everything certainly works for him and his stage animation is as horrid as ever. Dave Watson and Glenn Rogers deliver fast killer riffs in typical fashion and their melody, as they switch from one to the other in their solos is faultless, at times. It’s encouraging to see drummer Dave Chedrick not dismissing the sound of guitars too often and at the same token keeps us on the edge with his blistering relentless pounding. The raw sound is preserved and kept fresh.
The video quality is actually fantastic during the entire performance at the Minneapolis Mayhem Festival as was the case with most of other bonus material. I suppose the only disappointing thing was the fact that the singer on occasion took a bit of time between songs to chat with the crowd and to me personally didn’t sit too well. I could only imagine how frustrating it was to the crowds having come to get into some heavy head banging without interruption. For me it was an easy click of a mouse button to go to next track I suppose. A quite lengthy interview with the entire band can be found here and will keep you interested as it will give you a good insight as they discuss the past, present and future of Hirax. Other bonus material (see bellow) will keep you coming back to this DVD every now and then and definitely is a great edition to anyone’s heavy metal library, particularly for the lovers of the back then 80’s Bay Area scene. This will rekindle a lot of memories. So when it gets released at your place, rush out and grab it. "Thrash ‘Til Death" should be available through Century Media distribution as well as Black Devil Records very shortly.
"Thrash Til Death" track listing:
Minneapolis Mayhem Festival 2 - May 6, 2005 Minneapolis, MN U.S.A.
01. El Dia de los Muertos
02. Massacre of the Innocent
03. Blind Faith
04. The New Age of Terror
05. Hate, Fear and Power
06. Hostile Territory
07. Destroy
08. Broken Neck
09. El Diablo Negro
10. Killswitch
11. Walk With Death
12. Barrage of Noise
13. The Plague
14. Bombs of Death
15. Unleash the Dogs of War
Bonus Footage:
Bang Your Head Open Air Festival warm-up gig - June 26, 2003 Balingen, Germany:
01. Blind Faith
02. Warlord Command
03. Bombs of Death
04. Mouth Sewn Shut
05. Demons Evil Forces
Bang Your Head Open Air Festival - June 28, 2003 Balingen, Germany:
01. Hate, Fear and Power
02. Bombs of Death
03. Mouth Sewn Shut (guest guitar Jake Starr)
Dokk 'Em Open Air Festival - August 14, 2004 Friesland, Holland:
01. Hate, Fear and Power
02. Demons Evil Forces
Sweden Rock Festival - June 12, 2004 Solvesborg, Sweden:
01. El Diablo Negro
02. Killswitch
03. Bombs of Death
Tidal Wave Festival - June 19, 2004 San Francisco, CA:
01. Hate, Fear and Power
02. Demons Evil Forces
03. Walk With Death
The Pound KUSF 23rd Anniversary - May 13, 2005 San Francisco, CA:
01. Unleash the Dogs of War
PLUS Backstage interview Sweden Rock Festival June 2004, Promo Video, Discography, 2004 Photo Gallery, Catalogue Promo, and an 1985 live video of "Demons Evil Forces" Fender’s Ballroom, Long Beach, CA
