Raging Violence (EP)

Description

Before singer Katon DePena rejoined in 2000, HIRAX from Los Angeles had recorded only one album, two EPs and a demo. The latter shows that the band was still strongly influenced by NWOBHM bands such as Jaguar. The debut album “Raging Violence” (Metal Blade, 1985) is still highly controversial today! It was probably one of the most extreme albums of 1985, but this came at the expense of the songs and the interplay. Although they pulled themselves together on the following EP “Hate, Fear And Power”, there was never another album. After another EP in 7” single format, this phase of HIRAX, now partly regarded as a cult band, came to an end. In 2013, four members “from the old days” recorded five HIRAX tracks with singer Rob Perkins. The demo title “Born In The Streets” was also included on an album for the first time, with the second guitarist from back then, Bob Savage, on board. But why these new recordings? Bassist and founding member Gary Monardo explains that they make perfect sense: “The reason we re-recorded the Hirax songs is that the recordings from back then were faster than what we wanted, which softened the heaviness of the riffs. We wanted these recordings to be tight, clean, precise and extremely heavy. Since Katon’s vocals were considered polarizing by some fans, we wanted fans to hear the songs with a completely different vocal dynamic.” The three new tracks show that nothing has been forgotten. Scott Owen’s riffs are and remain “characteristic”. The band split up before a possible release in 2015 and only a few fans knew about the recordings. The musicians are currently back in contact and who knows what will happen in the months ahead...