Hirax (often stylized as HIRAX) is an American
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...
band from
Cypress, California
Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County, California. Its population was 50,151 as of the 2020 census.
History
Cypress originally was nicknamed "Waterville" due to the preponderance of artesian wells in the area, but was incorporated ...
. Starting in 1984
under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena (the band's only original member left in the current line-up), the band played in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
with several of their thrash metal peers such as
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
,
Exodus, and
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...
. The band was an early example of thrash metal,
speed metal
Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...
and
crossover thrash
Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre emerged in the mid-1980s, when hardcore punk bands, such as Suicidal Tendencies, Cryptic Slaughter, Corrosion of Conformity and Dir ...
, yet inspired by cross-genre influences including blues vocalist
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...
, who De Pena once cited as "the greatest vocalist
e Penahas ever heard."
History
After releasing some demos, Hirax signed with
Metal Blade and debuted with their first full-length, ''
Raging Violence'', in 1985.
The band was composed of Katon W. De Pena (vocals), Scott Owen (guitar), Gary Monardo (bass) and John Tabares (drums).
In 1986, John Tabares left the band and Eric Brecht (brother of
D.R.I.'s vocalist Kurt Brecht) joined.
After the change, they released their second album, ''
Hate, Fear and Power'',
which was only 16 minutes and eight songs in length. After this release, the band quit the label and independently released a demo called ''Blasted In Bangkok'' in 1987.
But with tensions and disillusions in the band, De Pena decided to leave and form a new band with
Gene Hoglan
Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...
(former
Dark Angel drummer), and
Ron McGovney (former
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
bassist).
They called themselves
Phantasm and released a six-track demo in 1988 (re-issued in 2002 as a CD with the demo and live tracks). After a brief tour with
Nuclear Assault
Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, ...
, they broke up. In 1989, after De Pena left, the replacement was
Paul Baloff (former
Exodus frontman).
But soon after the band broke up.
Reunion
De Pena stayed involved in the regional underground music scene and took a job working at a local music store. In 1997, he featured one of his old songs on a split
7-inch
In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...
with
Spazz, the band of one of his friends. By 1998, De Pena had received enough fan mail and interest which encouraged him to reunite Hirax in 2000. De Pena reunited the band with the original lineup of Scott Owen, Gary Monardo, and John Tabares, releasing the ''El Diablo Negro'' EP in 2000. In 2002, the band played in Abrasive Rock Fest. In 2003, the band played in
Bang Your Head Festival, in Germany. The lineup completely changed, and Hirax released the album ''Barrage of Noise'' in 2001 with James Joseph Hubler, Justin Lent (Clusterfux), and Nick Sellinger. This lineup was brief as well.
In 2003, De Pena recruited an entirely new lineup again, and released the album ''
The New Age of Terror'' in 2004 with guitarists Dave Watson and
Glenn Rogers (formerly of
Deliverance
''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...
), bassist Angelo Espino, and drummer
Jorge Iacobellis. The lineup was also short-lived due to irreconcilable differences.
The band released their fourth studio album, ''
El Rostro de la Muerte'', in the spring of 2009. On July 20, 2013, Hirax performed at the International Festival Convivencia Rock 2013 that took place in
Pereira, Colombia. Thirty-six bands played in the three-day festival and 10,000 people gathered each day of the event.
On February 24, 2014, the band released their album titled ''
Immortal Legacy'', courtesy of
Steamhammer Records.
March 2015 saw the band play in the UK for the first time in their history, beginning with an appearance at
Hammerfest in
Gwynedd
Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
.
On August 1, 2024, the band released a new EP, ''Faster than Death''. Their first studio album in 11 years, also titled ''
Faster than Death'', was originally due for a release on February 21, 2025, however its release date got pushed back to February 28, 2025.
Members
upright=1.2, Hirax in 2008
;Current
*Katon W. De Pena – vocals (1984–1988, 2000–present)
*Jose Gonzalez – bass (2024–present)
*Mathew Morales – drums (2025–present)
*Allan Chan – guitars (2024–present)
;Former
*Scott Owen – guitars (1984–1989, 2000)
*Gary Monardo – bass (1984–1989, 2000)
*Brian Keith – drums (1984)
*John Tabares – drums (1984–1986, 2000)
*Bob Savage – guitars (1984)
*Eric Brecht – drums (1986)
*
Paul Baloff – vocals (1989)
*James Joseph Hubler – guitars (2001)
*Justin Lent – guitars, bass (2001)
*
Shaun Ross – bass (2001)
*Dan Bellinger – drums (2001)
*Mike Brickman – bass (2001–2003)
*Dave Watson – guitars (2004–2005)
*Angelo Espino – bass (2004–2005)
*Fabricio Ravelli – drums (2005–2008)
*
Glenn Rogers – guitars (2003–2005, 2006–2007, 2008–2010)
*Mike Guerrero – guitars (2011–2013)
*
Jorge Iacobellis – drums (2004–2005, 2008–2013)
*Steve Harrison – bass (2005–2021)
*Lance Harrison – guitars (2006–2021)
*Mike Vega – drums (2014–2021)
*Neil Metcalf - guitars (2021-2024)
*Francisco Zamudio – drums (2022–2023)
*Chris Aguirre – bass (2022–2023)
*Danny Walker – drums (2023)
*Emilio Marquez - drums (2024-2025)
Timeline
Discography
;Studio albums
*''
Raging Violence'' (1985)
*''
Hate, Fear and Power'' (1986)
*''
The New Age of Terror'' (2004)
*''
El Rostro de la Muerte'' (2009)
*''
Immortal Legacy'' (2014)
*''
Faster than Death'' (2025)
;Split albums
*''Spazz/Hirax'' (1997)
*''Louder Than Hell'' (2005)
*''Hirax/F.K.Ü.'' (Sweden) (2008)
*''Hirax/Violator'' (Brazil) "Raging Thrash" (2010)
*''Hirax / Sodom'', split 7-inch SPV Records "Hellion Rising" (2013)
;EPs
*''El Diablo Negro'' (2000)
*''Barrage of Noise'' (2001)
*''Assassins of War'' (2007)
*''
Chaos and Brutality'' (2007)
* ''Faster Than Death'' (2024)
;Demos
*''Demo 1984'' (1984)
*''Demo Rehearsal 1'' (1985)
*''Demo Rehearsal 2'' (1985)
*''Blasted in Bangkok'' (1987)
;Compilation albums
*''Anglican Scrape Attic'' Earache Records (1985), flexi 7-inch, Hirax, Lp Cream, Execute, Sacrilege, Concrete Sox
*''Not Dead Yet'' (1987)
*''The Best of Metal Blade Records, Vol. 1'' (1987), various artists
*''Thrash of the Titans'' (1999)
*''Thrash Metal Warriors'' (2007), HIRAX,
Toxic Holocaust, Sabat,
Kat, etc.
*''Thrash Metal Assassins'' (2008)
*''
Noise Chaos War'' (2010)
;DVDs
*''Thrash 'Til Death'' (2006)
*''Thrash and Destroy'' (2008)
*''True Thrash Fest'' (2010), Live in Japan
References
External links
*
MerchandiseHirax on Encyclopaedia Metallum - The Metal Archives
{{Authority control
1984 establishments in California
Thrash metal musical groups from California
African-American heavy metal musical groups
Musical groups disestablished in 1989
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups from Orange County, California
Musical groups reestablished in 2000
Musical quartets from California