April 27, 2010

Reviewer: Chris

Hirax is one of the bands from my younger days that I remember fondly as one of the better thrash outfits that were unrelenting, speedy metal that took few prisoners. Vocalist Katon W. de Pena (the only original member from the band’s inception) has put together a great stable of musicians to carry on the Hirax name in recent years. So how does the new CD stand among the past efforts?

Well, it’s quite very good - not amazing, but very good. It’s typically Hirax, which is a positive in this case. If your thrash is the typical eighties west coast sound, the El Rostro de la Muerte is the album you’ll want on to bang the head that doesn’t bang. Katon’s vocal overachievements are both enjoyable and versatile, commanding the screaming of a Chuck Billy and the steady vocal line of a Paul Baloff, two of the more recognizable thrash legends. “Eradicate Mankind” is the track that captures both spirits of the two and meshes with Katon’s own style to create one of the better efforts. At times he even resembles Bon Scott (the title track is the best example of this), which of course is a high compliment

As for the songs, they are very good, and very easy to get into and enjoy from a band that is a part of historical thrash lore, and deservedly so. Why Hirax never got bigger than they are I’ll never know; the runs of Metallica, Anthrax, Testament and Slayer pretty much killed the little guy back in the mid-eighties, though the underground scene was still thriving. Lyrically they are thoughtful and concise; there’s no deep well of intricacies here, but in-your-face hardcore topics at their basest level. When you listen to El Rostro de la Muerte it’s a definite trip back in the ol’ time machine to an era filled with underrated and underrepresented thrashers from the west coast area.

The production sounds very eighties throughout, but if Possessed or Massacre had these types of tools at their respective disposals back then they’d have been quite happy. While possessing a certain ambience for the period, the modernization keeps the music from sounding dated and offers a fine, crisper production that you might expect from a band of old-school sway.

Other tracks of note are “Horrified (as close to Death as it comes), “Violent Assault,” “Broken Neck” and “Satan’s Fall,” which is not the Mercyful Fate track. I like how Katon mixes up his vocals with different tones and style without making it noticeable enough that you wonder if it’s still him singing. Each song here has a life of its own, which is what some bands today can’t seem to understand.

If you can support the little guy and want o find out what the hubbub was all about back in California back when, try out Hirax and thrash or be thrashed!

Release Date: November 16th, 2009
Label: Black Devil Records /
Kill Again Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Baptized by Fire
2.  Flesh and Blood
3.  Eradicate Mankind
4.  Chaos and Brutality
5.  El Rostro de la Muerte
     (The Face of Death)
6.  Blind Faith
7.  Horrified
8.  Battle of the North
9.  The Laws of Temptation
10.  Death Militia
11.  Broken Neck
12.  Violent Assault
13.  Cuando Cae la Oscuridad
       (When Darkness Falls)
14.  Satan’s Fall

Total playing time:  51:21

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Hirax - El Rostro de la Muerte