PAGE UPDATED IN 2026
- Not Dead Yet (1987, compilation)
- Blasted in Bangkok (1987, demo)
- Barrage of Noise (2001, EP)
- The New Age of Terror (2004)
- El Rostro de la Muerte (2009)
- Noise Chaos War (2010, compilation)
NOT DEAD YET 1987 (Black Devil Records)
- Standouts: 'Demons - Evil Forces', 'Blitzkrieg Air Attack', 'Bombs of Death', 'Defeat of Amalek', 'Raging Violence', 'Call of the Gods', 'Executed', 'Destruction and Terror' from Raging Violence, everything from Hate, Fear & Power since it's only 16 minutes long!
It feels like this disc has been in my collection forever, but in actuality I reckon I bought it in my late teens/early 20s. Pretty sure it was a Bloodstock festival market purchase 15 or so years ago when they actually had tons of stalls selling CD and vinyl, and not just merch. Then again, I'm nearly 34 now and that means I still obtained this album and started listening to Hirax about a third of my life ago! Time flies! About Not Dead Yet though - it's actually 2 albums packaged on a single CD. Those albums in question are Hirax's debut, 1985's Raging Violence, and their 1986 sophomore album Hate, Fear & Power. Both these records are pretty short - Raging Violence lasts half an hour in total, while Hate, Fear & Power barely clocks in over 16 minutes! So I think it makes sense to stuff both of 'em onto 1 disc. These records' short lengths sounds like a negative on paper, but I consider both of them to be classic slabs of US thrash metal. In fact, Hirax are sort of pioneers when it comes to the whole 'crossover thrash' scene. The songs are intentionally short and snappy, and that's where a lot of the hardcore punk influence comes into the music. The riffs and vocals are definitely more on the metallic side of things, but the attitude is total hardcore. Vocalist and main man Katon W. DePena has a trademark wailing style of vocals (at least during this early period of the band) - almost traditional heavy metal-like. Not a lot of thrash-associated frontmen go for this style... I suppose Joey Belladonna is a fair comparison, but Katon still has a unique and instantly recognisable voice to my ears.
- El Rostro de la Muerte (2009)
- Noise Chaos War (2010, compilation)
NOT DEAD YET 1987 (Black Devil Records)
- Standouts: 'Demons - Evil Forces', 'Blitzkrieg Air Attack', 'Bombs of Death', 'Defeat of Amalek', 'Raging Violence', 'Call of the Gods', 'Executed', 'Destruction and Terror' from Raging Violence, everything from Hate, Fear & Power since it's only 16 minutes long!
It feels like this disc has been in my collection forever, but in actuality I reckon I bought it in my late teens/early 20s. Pretty sure it was a Bloodstock festival market purchase 15 or so years ago when they actually had tons of stalls selling CD and vinyl, and not just merch. Then again, I'm nearly 34 now and that means I still obtained this album and started listening to Hirax about a third of my life ago! Time flies! About Not Dead Yet though - it's actually 2 albums packaged on a single CD. Those albums in question are Hirax's debut, 1985's Raging Violence, and their 1986 sophomore album Hate, Fear & Power. Both these records are pretty short - Raging Violence lasts half an hour in total, while Hate, Fear & Power barely clocks in over 16 minutes! So I think it makes sense to stuff both of 'em onto 1 disc. These records' short lengths sounds like a negative on paper, but I consider both of them to be classic slabs of US thrash metal. In fact, Hirax are sort of pioneers when it comes to the whole 'crossover thrash' scene. The songs are intentionally short and snappy, and that's where a lot of the hardcore punk influence comes into the music. The riffs and vocals are definitely more on the metallic side of things, but the attitude is total hardcore. Vocalist and main man Katon W. DePena has a trademark wailing style of vocals (at least during this early period of the band) - almost traditional heavy metal-like. Not a lot of thrash-associated frontmen go for this style... I suppose Joey Belladonna is a fair comparison, but Katon still has a unique and instantly recognisable voice to my ears.
Of these 2 albums, I'll lean towards Raging Violence as my favourite. 14 short but sweet tracks, my personal favourites being 'Demons - Evil Forces', 'Blitzkrieg Air Attack', 'Bombs of Death', 'Raging Violence', 'Call of the Gods' and 'Executed' - but really the 30 minute album length and fun mish-mash of thrash and speed metal, hardcore punk and possibly even the classic New Wave of British Heavy Metal style riffs means the whole album is strong from start to finish. I've listened to it a million times and I still haven't tired of it yet. The production is kind of raw and simplistic, but who cares? A lot of my favourite metal releases are from this era and were produced on a presumably measly budget! A lot of shit these days sounds too clean and over-produced anyway. And I guess you could call Raging Violence 'primitive', but again, I don't see why that's a bad thing. You might as well just write-off all '80s metal in that case.
EL ROSTRO DE LA MUERTE 2009 (Black Devil Records)
- Standouts: 'Baptized by Fire', 'El Rostro de la Muerte', 'Blind Faith', 'Horrified', 'Broken Neck', 'Violent Assault'
As for Hate, Fear & Power - like I said, it's really damn short, but the intensity has been cranked up another notch in my opinion. So maybe some of the classic speed/heavy metal influences are waning here and the thrash/hardcore sound is even stronger this time, and this does somewhat justify it's miniscule length. I actually like the fact it wastes no time on the listener, even if it does occasionally slow down a little on tracks like 'The Plague' and 'The Last War' - but this just makes the riff and drum work that teensy-bit more interesting. It helps that Katon's recognisable vocals add extra personality to the band too. Great follow-up then, but because of the uber-short 16 minute length, this isn't the sort of record I stick individual tracks into playlists from. I might be more of an album guy overall, but I do like making playlists for the gym or long drives too.
Raging Violence is an underground US metal classic in my books - I've got a patch of this one on my battle jacket. Hate, Fear & Power is a tad weaker, but still great. Either way, Not Dead Yet is the most convenient way to obtain them both, and as a diehard metalhead I think Hirax deserve their place alongside their contemporaries like Forbidden, Overkill, Testament, Exodus etc..
Adam's rating: 8.6/10 (Raging Violence)
8/10 (Hate, Fear & Power)
BLASTED IN BANGKOK 1987 (Deep Six Records)
- Standouts: 'Fear the War Within', 'Beginning of the End', 'Dying World (Shock)'
A 3-song demo originally recorded in 1987. I have the 2001 reissue from Deep Six Records, and it must have been remastered because the sound quality on this CD is way better than any of the YouTube uploads I've listened to. It sounds pretty damn good for what it's worth! They've also thrown in a 1984 demo version of 'Bombs of Death' as a bonus number. But the remaining 3 cuts are all prime Hirax. The shortest of the 3, 'Beginning of the End', is over 4 minutes, while 'Fear the War Within' and 'Dying World (Shock)' both clock 5 minutes. So that's 3 tracks lasting a total of 15 minutes - that's almost as long as their second full-length album, Hate, Fear & Power! Since these tracks are longer, they cram in more buzzsaw riffs and crazy Katon vocals, and aside from the intro to 'Dying World (Shock)', the band are firing on all cylinders. Fast and furious underground thrash from the glory days of the genre! Hmm, quite hard to rate this one. Even if the CD has been remastered, the sound quality is still rough around the edges (which is to be expected from a demo). The songs are great - I think I might even like them more than anything from Hate, Fear & Power. Had they been recorded to the same standard as either of their 2 full-length '80s albums, Blasted in Bangkok could've been a true classic EP. As it stands, it's just a demo. Thankfully, a really good demo at the very least.
I had my eye on this one for quite a while. An eBay seller in the UK sent me an offer of £15. Not exactly cheap then, but considering I can't find a single copy of this CD for sale in the UK right now on eBay or Discogs, I'm glad I bit the bullet and accepted that offer. Even though there's a few foreign sellers charging a little less for this, every single copy I can see for sale right now would cost me well over £20 because of the postage rates. It's hard enough to find Hirax CDs at all in the UK, let alone stuff like this one.
Adam's rating: 8/10
BARRAGE OF NOISE (EP) 2001 (Deep Six Records)
Adam's rating: 8.6/10 (Raging Violence)
8/10 (Hate, Fear & Power)
BLASTED IN BANGKOK 1987 (Deep Six Records)
- Standouts: 'Fear the War Within', 'Beginning of the End', 'Dying World (Shock)'
A 3-song demo originally recorded in 1987. I have the 2001 reissue from Deep Six Records, and it must have been remastered because the sound quality on this CD is way better than any of the YouTube uploads I've listened to. It sounds pretty damn good for what it's worth! They've also thrown in a 1984 demo version of 'Bombs of Death' as a bonus number. But the remaining 3 cuts are all prime Hirax. The shortest of the 3, 'Beginning of the End', is over 4 minutes, while 'Fear the War Within' and 'Dying World (Shock)' both clock 5 minutes. So that's 3 tracks lasting a total of 15 minutes - that's almost as long as their second full-length album, Hate, Fear & Power! Since these tracks are longer, they cram in more buzzsaw riffs and crazy Katon vocals, and aside from the intro to 'Dying World (Shock)', the band are firing on all cylinders. Fast and furious underground thrash from the glory days of the genre! Hmm, quite hard to rate this one. Even if the CD has been remastered, the sound quality is still rough around the edges (which is to be expected from a demo). The songs are great - I think I might even like them more than anything from Hate, Fear & Power. Had they been recorded to the same standard as either of their 2 full-length '80s albums, Blasted in Bangkok could've been a true classic EP. As it stands, it's just a demo. Thankfully, a really good demo at the very least.
I had my eye on this one for quite a while. An eBay seller in the UK sent me an offer of £15. Not exactly cheap then, but considering I can't find a single copy of this CD for sale in the UK right now on eBay or Discogs, I'm glad I bit the bullet and accepted that offer. Even though there's a few foreign sellers charging a little less for this, every single copy I can see for sale right now would cost me well over £20 because of the postage rates. It's hard enough to find Hirax CDs at all in the UK, let alone stuff like this one.
Adam's rating: 8/10
BARRAGE OF NOISE (EP) 2001 (Deep Six Records)
- Standouts: 'Murder One', 'Barrage of Noise', 'Walk With Death', 'Broken Neck', 'Mouth Sewn Shut', 'Beyond the Church (Part One)'
Hirax weren't really around very long in the '80s. They made Raging Violence and Hate, Fear & Power, and then split in '89. In the early 2000s though, Katon De Pena resurrected Hirax with a new lineup and released a couple of EPs, one of which I'm missing (2000's El Diablo Negro). I do have the other one on CD however - 2001's Barrage of Noise! When this thing dropped in 2001, over a decade had passed since Hirax made a record - so there's been some evolution, musically speaking. The guitars seem like they've been recorded in a lower tuning now, and the overall heaviness/aggression of the music is more intense than both of their '80s albums. But the '90s had already come and gone - and look how much heavy metal had evolved throughout that decade. By the way, none of this is a bad thing, because Barrage of Noise totally sounds like Hirax. This is great stuff!
Hirax weren't really around very long in the '80s. They made Raging Violence and Hate, Fear & Power, and then split in '89. In the early 2000s though, Katon De Pena resurrected Hirax with a new lineup and released a couple of EPs, one of which I'm missing (2000's El Diablo Negro). I do have the other one on CD however - 2001's Barrage of Noise! When this thing dropped in 2001, over a decade had passed since Hirax made a record - so there's been some evolution, musically speaking. The guitars seem like they've been recorded in a lower tuning now, and the overall heaviness/aggression of the music is more intense than both of their '80s albums. But the '90s had already come and gone - and look how much heavy metal had evolved throughout that decade. By the way, none of this is a bad thing, because Barrage of Noise totally sounds like Hirax. This is great stuff!
It may only be an EP, but there's 8 tracks in total and the entire disc lasts 22 minutes, meaning it's actually longer than Hate, Fear & Power! Some of the songs like 'Walk With Death', 'Mouth Sewn Shut' and 'Beyond the Church (Part One)' are pretty standard length, 3-4 minute metallers, but others like 'Broken Neck' and 'Barrage of Noise' have the short 1-2 minute lengths in similar style to their first 2 albums. The shorter numbers are fast and ferocious blasts of raw thrash metal, but the longer tracks incorporate plenty of mid-tempo riffage and even some melodic segments at times. I suppose you could say Katon was possibly morphing Hirax into a more conventional thrash band now - I feel like the hardcore element of the older stuff isn't quite as prominent anymore, even if it does still exist within the shorter tracks in particular. There's even a couple of little instrumentals to sit through - 'Jade' and 'French Pearl', the latter of which is acoustic. But they keep the EP varied and show Hirax could be more creative than we thought. The production here is raw and almost demo-like by 21st century standards, but it actually works in the CD's favour overall. Maybe the guitar tones are a little murky, but I can dig it.
There's nothing fancy going on here (although the 2 instrumentals were kind of different for the band at the time I guess), but if you liked the first couple of Hirax albums then you're gonna really like this EP as well. It's a strong comeback. I think I picked this one up at Bloodstock too, but I don't remember what year!
Adam's rating: 8.1/10
THE NEW AGE OF TERROR 2004 (Black Devil Records)
- Standouts: 'Kill Switch', 'Hostile Territory', 'Swords of Steel', 'Into the Ruins', 'Hell on Earth', 'Suffer', 'El Diablo Negro', 'Unleash the Dogs of War (Open the Gates)'
That Barrage of Noise EP sounded like a natural progression for Hirax - it was a tad more accomplished musically than their '80s material, but still had the same energy of that era. In 2004 they put out a new full-length album with The New Age of Terror. Unlike Barrage of Noise which still had that rough demo-like quality about it, this album sounds much more polished and professional in the production department. And even though there's still a handful of short, swift tracks like they've always been known for, 7 out of 11 of them are 3 or more minutes long, giving the whole album a 37 minute length. Yet again though, the songwriting and composition only feels natural, and not really a huge departure from what came before.
The most important thing here is that The New Age of Terror is a basically a pure, unadulterated thrash record. Probably more-so than a lot of what the other classic thrash bands were putting out at the time. Oh sure, I'm pretty sure the guitars are tuned lower than E-standard, and you can tell that the album's not a product of the 1980s (not that this is a bad thing by the way) - yet the album still feels old-school, which is what you want. Songs like 'Kill Switch', 'Hell on Earth', 'Hostile Territory', 'Unleash the Dogs of War (Open the Gates)' and 'Swords of Steel' are breakneck thrashers that serve only to tear arse! Others like the title track and 'Suffer' have their small share of mid-tempo riffage in them (even then, they're still probably faster than 'mid-tempo' overall) - maybe a hint of groove to keep those riffs memorable - but even these songs still up the intensity when they need to. There's also a couple of instrumentals on here - 'Massacre of the Innocent', which feels a little bit like a heavy intro 'Hell on Earth'. The other is the moody, melodic 'El Dia De Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)' - it's helps to pace the album. The short, snappy 'Into the Ruins' feels like a throwback to Hate, Fear & Power while 'El Diablo Negro' is actually a re-recording of the title song from the 2000 EP of the same name. It slots in amongst the rest of these tracks just fine.
If like me you love 'ya classic thrash, I'd find it weird if you don't enjoy The New Age of Terror. Guitar solos and leads are maybe not Hirax's speciality - they're here of course, but I don't find they particularly standout. And don't expect any prog/tech-type stuff here, as that's not what Hirax are all about. Everything else about this album is really damn good - Katon's vocals only seem to get better with age, in that he still does the high-pitch wails when necessary, but he also has a little more grit and harshness in his voice post-reunion. Still sounds like Katon, just with some added complexity now. And the razor riffs combined with the tight drums and rhythm all adds up to make one rock-solid slab of pure thrash metal. There's better thrash records from this century, sure, but this is about as no-nonsense and unpretentious as the genre gets. And I like that!
Adam's rating: 8.4/10
EL ROSTRO DE LA MUERTE 2009 (Black Devil Records)
- Standouts: 'Baptized by Fire', 'El Rostro de la Muerte', 'Blind Faith', 'Horrified', 'Broken Neck', 'Violent Assault'
Another Bloodstock pickup from many years ago! I'm pretty sure other than The New Age of Terror (which was a Discogs buy), all my Hirax discs were purchased at Bloodstock festival. Despite having existed since 1984, El Rostro de la Muerte (translates to The Face of Death) is still only the band's 4th full-length studio album. They're one of those bands that have a lot of EPs and splits between albums, which I find to be more common amongst more groups within the metal underground. Anyway, this is another solid thrash platter, although I do find this one has maybe just a tad less of Hirax's usual personality about it. What I mean by that is, some of the little characteristics of past records don't shine as bright this time around, making the album sound a little less traditionally-Hirax to my ears. Although there are a couple of short-burst moshy cuts ('Death Militia' and the re-recordings of 'Blind Faith' from Hate, Fear & Power and 'Broken Neck' originally from the Barrage of Noise EP), practically every other track on this CD lasts well over 3 minutes, with the title track and 'Satan's Fall' clocking in at over 6 minutes! And there's even a short piano instrumental in 'Cuando Cae la Oscuridad (When Darkness Falls)'!!
Just to be clear, this doesn't necessarily affect the album negatively. It just makes the music a bit less old-school Hirax. The guitars are once again tuned lower than their '80s recordings, and the music has gotten very tight and precise now. The riffs are sharper than a bayonet, the songs heavier than ever and the overall intensity taken a step further. Katon still sounds great; harsher once again, and maybe a little less wail-y due to the more extreme nature of the songs, but still good. And the songs are good too - the title track and 'Violent Assault' remind me a lot of South of Heaven/Seasons in the Abyss-era Slayer, opener 'Baptized by Fire' is kinda brutal, 'Horrified' is a savage assault of the senses while 'Death Militia' does hearken back to the Hirax of old - which is great of course. And by default, the re-recordings of 'Blind Faith' and 'Broken Neck' are standouts for me. As I basically said before though, my biggest issue with this album is the way some of the longer tracks don't really give me that classic Hirax vibe. It's not a major complaint, because every track on here is still good - it just makes them slightly more generic-sounding I guess. But I also think there's maybe a few too many of them on here too. 14 tracks and a near-51 minute length makes this by far the longest Hirax album. Meh, is this really a big deal though if the songs are good?
I think The New Age of Terror got the balance of old-school and modern Hirax just about right. El Rostro de la Muerte is tighter, heavier and probably faster overall too. The musicianship is better from a technical playing perspective, but the old crossover thrash style is nearly invisible here and the music much more typically-thrash now. But outright labelling this album 'generic thrash' is unkind. Katon's vocals are instantly recognisable, and whichever way I look at it, the album is certainly enjoyable thrash. I like it a lot - it just isn't go-to Hirax for me.
Adam's rating: 7.7/10
NOISE CHAOS WAR 2010 (Black Devil Records)
- Standouts: 'Murder One', 'Barrage of Noise', 'Walk With Death', 'Broken Neck', 'Mouth Sewn Shut', 'Beyond the Church (Part One)', 'Chaos and Brutality', 'Lucifer's Inferno, 'Summon the Death Dealers'Adam's rating: 7.7/10
NOISE CHAOS WAR 2010 (Black Devil Records)
Not a full-length studio album, but a compilation of 3 Hirax EPs on a single disc - Barrage of Noise (2001) which I've already reviewed, Chaos and Brutality and Assassins of War (both 2007) - hence the 'Noise Chaos War' title of this disc. The Chaos and Brutality EP feels more like a single promotion for the title song, as you're getting a re-recording of 'Walk With Death' - which was originally from Barrage of Noise, meaning the song pops up twice on this CD - and 2 short instrumentals ('100,000 Strong' and 'Lucifer's Inferno (Reprise)'). Whatever, the song 'Chaos and Brutality' is a pummelling thrasher! The tracks from Assassins of War are all cool - 'Lucifer's Inferno' thrashes hard, but there's still some melody in one of it's main riffs too which is kinda nice. 'Summon the Death Dealers' is a surprisingly lengthy number at nearly 7 minutes, but it's a riff-fest. 'City of the Dead' is a nice blend of mid-tempo riffage and pure Hirax thrash rage. 'Assassins of War' closes this compilation on a high note - Katon's vocals are old-school metal to max! This track could've easily fit on The New Age of Terror. The only so-so track would be 'Invasion' as it's a bit of a 'generic mid-tempo thrash' affair, but certainly not terrible.
If you treat this disc as a single entire album (which you shouldn't), it's gonna sound disjointed. Barrage of Noise is much rawer than either of the other 2 EPs, and sticks out like a sore thumb in that regard. But Assassins of War and Chaos and Brutality are both recorded similarly (cleaner and more professional) and go together rather well. And since this is a compilation after all, having Barrage of Noise here too is great - because that EP is great. Still probably my favourite of the 3 here. But really all the music on here is pure, no-frills Hirax. Not peak Hirax, but I'm glad it's in my collection. Unlike a lot of my other Hirax CDs, this one I can pinpoint to when I acquired it! According to my crappy old review (which I've deleted), I picked this up at the Season of Mist stall at Bloodstock 2018. I miss when Bloodstock had more stalls selling CDs!
Adam's rating: 8.1/10
Adam's rating: 8.1/10
