Google “Hyrax.” 

Go ahead. I’ll wait. 

That little guy sure was cute, wasn’t he (or she)?  

Cute, but with a resting grouchy face fronting a chubby no-tail squirrel body. You get an idea of why these guys chose the name Hirax forty(!) years ago. Cool name with an X in it, creating a hint of aggression even a word like Helix gave to a solid second-tier Thrash band.

Second-tier was not meant to comment on the quality of what poured into my ears when I hit Play on Faster Than Death (Armageddon Label) today. It’s solely a comment on who became national names, and who remained openers and small-venue heroes.

I hear that song lengths across the industry are shrinking due in no small part to TikTok. Thrash emerges from a magical mixture of Metal and Hardcore, with sub-two-minute tunes a major element of Hardcore.  

Between the big four of Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer song lengths increased to eight minutes and more in some cases. So, I’m trying to figure out to what to attribute this ten-song album’s twenty-one minutes, fifty-three seconds run time.  </Man yelling at cloud> In my day, Thrash albums tended to be forty-five minutes and more. </end Man yelling at cloud.>

As someone currently between a crown drill-out and the actual crown, opening the album with “Drill Into The Brain” and its oh-so-effective sound effects had a visceral impact like I haven’t had in a while. It’s good that the music keeps up.  

The Speed Thrash sound lands firmly between Anthrax and Slayer more than Metallica or Megadeth. With minimal effects, pedals, or samples, Faster Than Death is a time machine for your ears, bringing the eighties back with the force of a DeLorean going 88 miles an hour down main street.

If I haven’t convinced you that Faster Than Death will slot in nicely alongside your Razor, Annihilator, and TT Quick CDs, you might not be the target audience.

Buy the album here:
https://hirax.bigcartel.com/

9 / 10
LARRY ROGERS
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