Article By: Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker ‡ Edited By: Leanne Ridgeway

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The Italian label F.O.A.D. Records has announced they are going to release a very special, rare gem from metal’s past.

April 23rd will see the label issue a compilation of demos, titled ‘Born In The Streets 1983 / 1984‘, from none other than thrash metal legends HIRAX. This is the ultimate collection of the very earliest HIRAX recordings on LP, including their cult ‘Demo 1984′ in its best quality yet. It will also contain unreleased tracks from the same era and the rare ‘LA KAOS Demo 1983‘ for the first time on vinyl.

The four-track ‘Demo 1984′ has been remastered, then there are three unreleased songs from 1983-84 (“To Be Free“, “The Saviour“, “War Hero“) and the very hard to find ‘LA KAOS’ (pre-Hirax) demo tape ripped straight from Katon W. De Pena‘s personal archives. To complete the F.O.A.D. Records package, also included are a booklet with liner notes, lyrics, rare photos, ‘zine excerpts, and flyers.

HIRAX front-man Katon W. De Pena comments:

“You hold in your hand something very special. This record / album is Hirax’s first time in the recording studio. This release also includes music from a pre-Hirax era. We hope to give the listeners high quality with never before seen photos, lyrics, flyers, reviews, memorabilia, etc. We have to go back in time… the year was 1983… getting ready to turn over to 1984… (I was 20 years old) … We had no idea that we would be recording the most important demo of our career. We laid down four songs, most of them are one takes with a few overdubs. For us, this demo would be like Metallica’s No Life ‘Til Leather or Iron Maiden’s Soundhouse Tapes. Most of our hardcore fans know about these songs. Once the recordings were reviewed in top heavy metal magazines and fanzines, such as Metal Forces, Headbanger, Rock Hard, Kick Ass Monthly, Brain Damage, Aardschok, a handful of French magazines, etc. we developed a worldwide, cult fanbase. Tape traders spread our music like wildfire! We originally sold over 5,000 copies… after that we stopped counting and just continued pressing these cassettes / demos. At that time, there was an explosion in the underground scene and we were a part of it.  Today Hirax is still very active writing, recording and playing festivals / concerts all over the world including most countries in Central / South America, Europe, UK, Scandinavia, U.S.A., Japan, etc.

Thank you for your support! Kick back, relax and turn up the fucking volume!”

HIRAX ‘Born In The Streets 1983 / 1984‘ Vinyl LP is available in 2 different variants and available for pre-order now at these links:

BLACK Vinyl    /   BLACK – MINT GREEN Half & Half Vinyl

2018, Hirax, Thrash Metal