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Thrashback Thursday: Hirax - "Unleash The Dogs Of War"

Hirax are truly one of those old school thrash bands that define the term, "hidden gem." Beneath the big names of Anthrax and Slayer and the not quite as famous names such as Testament and Death Angel, there's some excellent groups to be found, and one of the first that I found in my search for more thrash, as well as one of my personal favourites, was Hirax. They were formed in Orange County, California in 1984 and were led by their charismatic singer, Katon W. De Pena, unique for not only being one of the few black musicians in the thrash scene, but for his one of a kind singing voice, with a cadence all of his own. They released two albums, "Raging Violence" and "Hate, Fear and Power,"before losing their record deal, independently releasing a demo entitled, "Blasted In Bangkok," before Katon left the group to start a new outfit called Phantasm with Gene Hoglan and original Metallica bass player Ron McGovney, while Hirax brought in former Exodus singer Paul Baloff for a brief period before disbanding altogether.

Over time, underground interest had built up and in 2000, Katon decided to bring the band back, convincing original members Scott Owen, Gary Monardo, and John Tabares to join in as well and release the "El Diablo Negro" EP later that year. Within time, there was a major lineup shift and Katon was left as the sole original member, putting together an all new lineup in time to record and release a new album, "The New Age Of Terror" in 2004. It was an excellent return for the band, cited by some critics as the best in their catalogue and featured some fantastic tracks such as, "Hostile Territory" and "Hell On Earth," but the song which stood out for me, was the closing, "Unleash the Dogs of War," which contains one of the catchiest chouruses in thrash metal history and a punishing intro. It also showcases Katon's voice perfectly and was a big part of what made "The New Age of Terror" not just a great album, but a great statement that the old thrash metal bands who had returned or were considering returning, could still rock out as hard as ever and teach the young guns a thing or two.

Hirax - "Unleash The Dogs Of War (Open The Gates)"