HIRAX — Hate, Fear and Power (review)

HIRAX — Hate, Fear and Power album cover Album · 1986 · Thrash Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
UMUR
"Hate, Fear and Power" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, California based thrash/speed metal act Hirax. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in August 1986. There´s been one lineup change since the predecessor as drummer John Tabares has been replaced by Eric Brecht. While "Hate, Fear and Power" only features 8 tracks and a full playing time of 16:02 minutes, the band still consider it a full-length studio album.

"Raging Violence (1985)" was a relatively raw thrash/speed metal album, but it still featured quite a few traditional heavy metal traits. That´s not the case on "Hate, Fear and Power", which is a faster, more intense, and even more raw thrash/speed metal release. It´s primal energy and raw and organic sound production are quite intoxicating at times, but Katon W. de Pena´s vocals are bound to be an aquired taste. His wailing and screaming vocals are quite distinct sounding, and unfortunately also a rather one-dimensional feature in the band´s music, and his voice and vocal style make the tracks sound a lot the same. It´s like he only has one tone and melody line and applies them to every track on the album. Pretty much the same critique I gave his vocal performance on the debut album, and little has changed here regarding that. It simply becomes a bit of a strenuous task listening to his vocals for the duration of the album, despite the short length of the release. When that is said I always praise originality and uniqueness, and he certainly is both distinct sounding and unique.

The instrumental part of the music is fast, intense, and raw thrash/speed metal delivered by some skilled musicians. The 8 tracks are all relatively short (the longest being 2:54 minutes long), and "Hate, Fear and Power" is one of those albums which feels like it´s over before it began. It wins on intensity and raw power, and loses a bit on the memorability of the songwriting, but it´s overall a quality release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved. de Pena´s voice is pretty much a deal breaker though, so be prepared for that.
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