Tour-de-force crossover/thrash grand slam from underground mainstay Katon W. DePena's band, Hirax. Chugging riffs, lightspeed drums, and pit-inducing breakdowns, constantly highlighted by Mr. DePena's soaring falsetto. The perfect compromise between corny and awesome, and those "Hey, maybe you should think about giving Christianity a shot" lyrics don't hurt, either.
PS: Katon, the middle initial isn't really neccessary with a name like that (see also: Yngwie J. Malmsteen).
Download HERE
Purchase (b/w Hate, Fear and Power (1986) HERE
Check out that cover. What the fuck?! Eggs? A rare swing-and-a-miss by our buddy Pushead.
Hmmm... I like the eggs, you just can't put Humpty back together again. I have loved this album since I first got it on tape in 1987, but I think Hate, Fear and Power has better songs, like "Lightning Thunder." Katon certainly has a unique high pitched vocal for thrash. I can only imagine him turning it into death metal growls or black metal rasps! Wow, it boogles the mind.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my all-time favorite record covers. Br00tal. Unforgettable.
ReplyDeleteI disagree. It's an atrocity.
ReplyDeleteWoo-hoo, love for Hirax! "Destroy" was actually one of the first songs I learned on bass. True story.
ReplyDeleteI love this album. I first bought it in 1986 as it was lingering about in a record store I use to frequent because it carried punk records. I bought it for the cover, by Pushead, for the cool front/back covers, the thank you's on the back cover, it was on Metal Blade, and of course all the short songs! I loved the guitar work and the speed of the beat mostly. Katon's vocals are the short fall for me, but I just let the music take me away from that. At that time in 1985 and till now, it is punk that is my favorite genre of music, but in my small town, at the time it was hard to gauge where the scene was moving toward. No shows here at the time. No nothing really except for the rare temporary record store you can browse the used bins and new records that carried stuff the Warehouse never did. I didn't discover Corrosion Of Conformity till 1987, and that was Eye for an Eye! So in 1985/1986 was the years I got a taste of crossover. First with MACE in 1985 and then with Hirax in early 1986. I never got a hold of any other release. I have now heard their second release, but I don't listen to anything else by them because I want to just remember those 2 first records that came at a time in my life, High School, College, that was just so memorable. In a way I only listen to those two albums as a way to kinda freeze time with this band. When I would listen to their first two albums on cassette, in the desert here in Lancaster, drinking Mickie's Malt with my best friend, and ending the night of drinking in the desert by going to Naugles and having chili fries or burritos to sober up while blasting Hirax and Mace and just marveling in the sounds. A hybrid of Hardcore speed and Metal Madness!!! This was definitely an early introduction to crossover, I remember it fondly and enjoy the album to this day because rock and roll is still not dead!!! I still LOVE IT!!!
ReplyDeleteBye.