HIRAX 'The New Age Of Terror'
Mausoleum Records (2004)
I consider myself really lucky to have grown up in the 80’s - a decade which
is considered by many to be the most important in the history of Heavy Metal
music. By the mid 80’s, a very important scene was created in San Francisco,
the Bay Area Thrash Metal scene, which was originally represented by bands
such as Exodus, Metallica and the mighty Slayer.
All these young (at the time) bans were mainly influenced by the New Wave of
British Heavy Metal scene and bands like Venom, Motorhead and Judas Priest.
Their intention was to create a faster and heavier approach to that existing
sound, by combining the melodic elements of Classic Heavy Metal with the
aggression and the power of Punk Music. It was not long before the pioneers
of this movement managed to gather a strong following, and the underground
Thrash Metal movement was born. One of the bands that were born during that
era became known as Hirax.
The band was formed in 1984 by a Heavy Metal enthusiast, vocalist Katon W De
Pena. The man with the very characteristic voice is the only surviving
member from the band’s original line up, and this man sits behind the
driving wheel of the Hirax vehicle.
The first period in the band’s history saw them on tour, supporting bands like Megadeth and Exciter, and the
release of their first two albums 'Raging Violence'(1985), and 'Hate, Fear
and Power'(1986). Even though they had a strong and loyal fan base, Hirax
never managed to break through to a bigger audience, and the result was that
the band split up in 1988.
It seems, though, that De Pena was not willing to give up on the Hirax dream
so easily. In 1998 the band started to consider re-uniting, and two years
later came the release of an EP called 'El Diablo Negro', which was soon
followed by 'Barrage Of Noise', both of which brought the name Hirax back to
the surface, and refreshed the memory of many Metalheads throughout the
world. Now, twenty years after they were originally formed, Hirax are
returning with another Thrash Metal release called 'The New Age of Terror'.
This is the first ever release that I got to listen to from this band, and
the feelings I had after I first heard it were quite mixed. The reason is
very simple: the guitar work on 'The New Age of Terror' is simply brilliant,
but Katon W De Pena’s voice does not always give credit to the amazing riffs
and solos that are performed by the very skilful Dave Watson and Glenn
Rogers.
De Pena has quite a unique style of singing, something that can
trigger both positive and negative reactions, depending on the listener. His
voice reminds me that of Steve Sousa’s (Exodus) in some ways, but that does
not apply when he chooses to use high pitch vocals. That’s my only objection
as far as this album is concerned, otherwise I believe that 'The New Age of
Terror' is the perfect album for every fan of the Bay Area Thrash Metal
scene.
There are no fillers in this album, but I have to admit that the opening
track 'Kill Switch', 'The New Age Of Terror', 'Massacre Of The Innocent',
and 'El Diablo Negro' are the songs that I enjoyed the most.
If Hirax decide to play a gig in London, I will definitely attend. I really
want to see how these killer riffs sound live! The new Millennium brought
about the rebirth of my favourite music scene, Thrash Metal. Long may it
reign again!
***½
Review by John Stefanis
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