Translated as “The Face of Death,” El Rostro De La Muerte is one hot-shit thrash inferno. Forget about the army of toddler thrashers that have discovered the glory days – well, ok, I do like a lot of what’s happening now, but you get the idea – because Hirax puts most of them to shame. Put this album at least in league with newer releases by the likes of Exodus. The riffs kill, the solos sear, the songwriting is memorable, and De Pena’s vocals are Zetro-esque and completely off the rails. Songs like “Baptized in Fire,” “Flesh and Blood,” Eradicate Mankind,” and “Satan’s Fall” – ah shit, pick any song, I’m serious – are first rate adrenaline pumpers that’ll send shock waves down your spine and metal shards right up your ass. And that includes versions of a couple of cuts in “Broken Neck” and “Chaos and Brutality” that have appeared on previous releases (the former re-recorded and the latter remixed). Piano interlude “Cuando Cae la Oscuridad (When Darkness Falls)” even works and doesn’t seem out of place; I’m not sure why, it just works.

John Haddad’s recording is pretty damn strong as well and the Ed Repke artwork is most appropriate, not to mention bad to the bone. I like the booklet with lyrics and live photos too. Hell, I even like the Rainbow Rising shirt that guitarist Glenn Rogers is wearing in one of the photos. For the love of all that is unholy, buy El Rostro De La Muerte. We need more albums like this. Keep ‘em coming, boys!

Spotlighting the band’s performance at Keep It True XI in Dittigheim, Germany, the band rips and tears through a high energy, 75-minute set including “Chaos And Brutality”, “The Plague”, “Mouth Sewn Shut”, “Lucifer’s Inferno”, “Hate, Fear And Power” and 13 other whiplash inducing tracks. The camera angles are cool (looks like television cameras), the audio is clean and clear (good soundboard mix) and Katon & Co. are whipping up a frenzy onstage. As if one concert wasn’t enough, the band have included their 12 song set from Metal Forces Night – Part I as an added bonus. The accompanying CD contains the audio for the Keep It True show.

Not a lot else one can really say about this release. It’s raw, it’s loud, it’s in your face Metal…2 full concerts to watch and one to take in the car with cool artwork by Bill Hauser (Toxic Holocaust, Gorilla Biscuits). Oh, it’s also recently been released as a double vinyl set for the diehards. Grab this one up.

Indeed. I’m a young fellow. When Hirax rocked the thrash grounds, I was still getting high on milk and learning about morals and ethics from Optimus Prime. By the time I got interested in heavy metal, Hirax had already disbanded and acts like Sepultura, Anthrax and Suicidal Tendencies had played within a 20 minute walk of my house without me giving two shits about it. Damn you, childhood! Damn you to hell!

Luckily, the saying “better late than never” is true as I’m quite pleased with fixing at least some of the errors of my youth. You live and you learn. When I first listened to Thew New Age of Terror I brushed it away. Don’t know why, don’t know how but it all sounded like a bunch of wind chimes to me. Guess I was having the male version of PMS. Lucky for me, I decided to give the band another shot and after the first couple of songs I had already been knocked out twice. I don’t know what happened to the CD during the time away from the player, but the whole thing just felt completely different. Guess the time wasn’t right the first time around.

Simply, Hirax equals pure Bay Area thrash metal: pounding, fast, dirty. And after repeated listens, I must say The New Age of Terror blows both Exodus and Death Angel away. The band delivers a great ass kicking while singer Katon W. DePena shrieks words of war, death and destruction. Just the topics you expect to hear from bands like these. Sure, with an album title like that, you could interpret some of the songs as modern age critique, but that’s how it’s been with thrash metal always. Whether one goes down that “politically aware” road or not, the fact remains that DePena and the band gets to shout out cool words like “destruction” in unison. And that’s all that matters as there’s plenty of moshing and headbanging to be done while waking your neighbors with tormented screams. In between the thrashing, we’re also treated with a nice instrumental track that gives you a couple of minutes to breath and rest while your hunger for the last two tracks rises. It’s almost like being in a concert, knowing that the end of the show is near but that there’s at least a couple of more tour de forces to come.

Hirax has also been able to avoid a couple of the pitfalls that plague certain releases today. The production, while being clear, isn’t clinical. You get to hear all the instruments but the image of green hospital walls is nowhere to be found. Excellent. Also, the album’s structure is almost perfect. It knows when to stop. 11 cuts in 37 minutes, not 11 cuts in 58 minutes. Not once does the album drag; it keeps its integrity to the end.

What more is there to say? The New Age of Terror is an extremely pleasing album with plenty of old school vibe. Why try and fit the music to “modern age” boundaries, when there wasn’t anything wrong with in the first place? Due to my inexperience, I can’t compare this with the band’s previous efforts, but for those Testament fans out there, check this one out. You won’t be disappointed while you wait for a new cut from Chuck & Co. Rock on, Hirax!