Some things just refuse to die. Despite there being an argument to be made that thrash metal in its modern state is not in great form for one reason or another, there are always at least a handful of acts out there that have never stopped being relevant in the sound to have us crawling back over and over. Having gotten their start back in the heyday of thrash, Hirax has been a force to reckon with before and after their eleven-year hiatus. Now, eleven years since their last full-length outing, it’s with this new effort that Hirax’s legacy is given a nice bow on a glorious reputation that stretches back over forty years.

When we’re dealing with a band as pivotal as Hirax, one is quite tempted to throw around words like “legendary” to describe such an act for all the power and influence that it had thrown around in its time. To come before long-standing monoliths of a genre like Hirax is to realize why the sound in question can oftentimes feel like stepping right through a portal in time where all the legends are only just getting a foothold and showing us what they can do. Oftentimes, such acts are far more active in the studio, but quantity is never the same as quality with Hirax the definition of what it means to take its time while keeping things at a fever pitch when they do act. “Faster Than Death” takes its name very seriously and never once does it squander its potential nor the legacy of the band that name that brought it to life. Not even a half-hour in length with all the finesse, punch, and blistering heat that one could ask for from thrash metal that sounds as though it was ripped right off the shelves in the 80s – a mindset that Hirax has long performed to spectacular effect. Ferocious in all the right proportions and never once yields to the screams of those that it mows down in its path, “Faster Than Death” is the shot of adrenaline and wild power that thrash metal could have only prayed for in order to make 2025 begin on an undeniable high note. Many of fresh acts out in the realm of thrash have done good things, but there’s nothing that can compare to when a masterful act like Hirax rears its many-horned head.

Where many seek to bring some semblance of that old school fury that has long been held in high regards in all things related to thrash metal, few have been able to throw down anything close to what Hirax has accomplished within the whole of “Faster Than Death”. It’s a record that may not seem like much in the grand scheme, but those in the know with the very name of this act know what’s put forth here: thrash metal of the highest order.

“Faster Than Death” releases on February 28th!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Faster Than Death” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Hirax on Facebook here.