Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/hirax-faster-than-death-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Hirax – Faster than Death Review</a></p><p><i>By Dr. A.N. Grier</i></p><p><span class="">When <b>Hirax</b>’s newest record dropped, I thought, “These guys are still around?” That’s not me being a dick. They haven’t released a new album since 2014. I suppose that’s on par with the band considering they’ve been on and off since 1984—this year’s <i>Faster than Death</i> only being their sixth full-length release. With vocalist Katon W. de Pena being the only remaining original member of the band, it appears that once a record is complete, that lineup leaves, and the wait begins for a new one to pen another release. The same can be said for <i>Faster than Death</i>. Not only do we see a new lineup to support de Pena but a dedicated roster for live events. This is a shame because I feel the success of 2014’s <i>Immortal Legacy</i> was due to the crew’s performances and songwriting abilities. Because, believe it or not, <i>Immortal Legacy</i> is one of the band’s strongest releases. But <i>Faster than Death</i> proves that once <b>Hirax</b> gets onto something, they revert to their past and mess it up.</span></p><p><span class="">Case in point, this new record returns to the band’s days of yore where you can’t tell if a release is an EP or LP. Unlike the thirty-eight-minute <i>Immortal Legacy</i>—which provided plenty of breathing room to explore a riff or idea—<i>Faster than Death</i> lives up to its name with a nearly twenty-two-minute runtime. Not that I’m quite in a place to discover if I can die in that time, but I do know that my morning coffee shits take longer than it takes to listen to this record. With songs one to two minutes in length, even <b>Hirax</b>’s traditional speed-meets-thrash-meets-borderline-hardcore style struggles to provide a memorable and meaningful track. They were better at it in the olde days with <i>Raging Violence</i> and <i>Hate, Fear and Power</i>,<a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/hirax-faster-than-death-review/#fn-213141-1" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">1</a> but those who feel <b>Hirax</b> made a significant impact on the Bay Area scene are kidding themselves. That said, what they worked so hard for on <i>Immortal Legacy</i> is gone on <i>Faster than Death</i>.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="">“Drill into the Brain” kicks the album off with a standard <b>Hirax</b> thrash lick and de Pena’s classic cleaner vocal style that brings to mind the <b>Anthrax</b>es and <b>Metal Church</b>es of the scene. But it’s nothing more than a simple chorus and blistering solo in a one-minute expanse. So, naturally, I’m worried. Thankfully, there are some stellar tracks on <i>Faster than Death</i>, specifically “Drowned Bodies,” “Psychiatric Ward,” and “Revenant.” The first is a chugtastic piece with an <b>Anthrax</b>y riff and vocal performance. As the riff changes occur and the nifty blastbeats build the back half of the song back to Chugger Town, the band finds that raw intensity that makes their better songs so good. “Psychiatric Ward” is similar in approach but for all my disappointments with these shorter track lengths, it delivers the goods and brings some hefty shit to it’s mere minute-and-a-half runtime. “Revenant” is the longest track on the record and the most unique. Displaying some slick fretboard work and a sinister, eerie atmosphere, the track is the album’s pleasing black sheep—specifically when it ventures into <b>Testament</b>-like territories and the massive build to the end.</span></p><p></p><p><span class="">But that’s about all I can return to without getting annoyed. The opener flies by so fast that you can’t get a grip on what’s going on, “Armageddon” is forgettable, the title track is boring, and, while the closing “Worlds End” has its moments, the vocals feel uninspired and I’m already done with the album because of the closer’s predecessor. Why do you ask? Because it’s a re-recording of their 1985 classic, “Warlord’s Command.” The album is only nine tracks long. Did they really run out of ideas that require re-recording a song like “Warlord’s Command?” I have no idea but all it does here is disrupt the flow, cripple the closer—all for a heavier version of a track that few remember.<a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/hirax-faster-than-death-review/#fn-213141-2" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">2</a></span></p><p><span class="">Outside the handful of songs that I enjoy, the only redeeming quality of <i>Faster than Death</i> is that it’s short and dynamic as fook. If it were rawer, the master’s openness would make it feel like it came from the ’80s. But that feeling doesn’t last long because <i>Faster than Death</i> is pretty one-dimensional. While their older material and even <i>Immortal Legacy</i> displayed some original guitar, bass, and drum work, <i>Faster than Death </i>is centered predominately on chugging trash riffs. It works with some of the stronger tracks, but others become predictable and begin to blend. I wanted to like this new release because the previous one felt like a step in the right direction. But now we are pulled back down the rungs, and I’m too tired to climb the latter again.</span></p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> 2.0/5.0<br><strong>DR:</strong> 9 | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label:</strong> <a href="https://armageddonshop.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Armageddon Label</a> | <a href="https://armageddonlabel.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Bandcamp</a><br><strong>Websites:</strong> <a href="https://hirax.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">hirax.bandcamp.com</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hiraxthrashmetal" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">facebook.com/hiraxthrashmetal</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> February 28th, 2025</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/20/" target="_blank">#20</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/american-metal/" target="_blank">#AmericanMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/anthrax/" target="_blank">#Anthrax</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/armageddon-label/" target="_blank">#ArmageddonLabel</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/faster-than-death/" target="_blank">#FasterThanDeath</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/feb25/" target="_blank">#Feb25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/hirax/" target="_blank">#Hirax</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/metal-church/" target="_blank">#MetalChurch</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/speed-metal/" target="_blank">#SpeedMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/testament/" target="_blank">#Testament</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/thrash-metal/" target="_blank">#ThrashMetal</a></p>
101010.pl is one of the many independent Mastodon servers you can use to participate in the fediverse.
101010.pl czyli najstarszy polski serwer Mastodon. Posiadamy wpisy do 2048 znaków.
Administered by:
Server stats:
576active users
101010.pl: About · Status · Profiles directory · Privacy policy
Mastodon: About · Get the app · Keyboard shortcuts · View source code · v4.4.0-alpha.4
#MetalChurch
0 posts · 0 participants · 0 posts today
sariash<p>Metal Church's self-titled debut album is now 40 years old. That's a very good reason to play it and make it part of <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://metalhead.club/@Kitty" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">@<span>Kitty</span></a></span>'s <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/MittwochMetalMix" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MittwochMetalMix</span></a> today 🤘🏼 </p><p>Links to stream it, on album.link here:<br><a href="https://album.link/i/309589774" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">album.link/i/309589774</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p><p><a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/Music" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Music</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/Metal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Metal</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/HeavyMetal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HeavyMetal</span></a> <a href="https://social.tchncs.de/tags/MetalChurch" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MetalChurch</span></a></p>
ExploreLive feeds
Mastodon is the best way to keep up with what's happening.
Follow anyone across the fediverse and see it all in chronological order. No algorithms, ads, or clickbait in sight.
Create accountLoginDrag & drop to upload