Hirax - Raging Violence (1985)

Considered a bit of an oddity this one, mainly due to that strange cover art. The mid '80s produced some fantastic and at times original thrash, Hirax made all the more original by the manic guitars of Owen and maniacal wails of Depena. The title cut is all over the place, incorporating a peculiar riff amidst the wayward drums and seemingly out of tune vocals which lead to the chorus screams. This is a real frenzy of an album that rarely chugs, but simply pulls the face of the listener into a heavy metal blender and tears it to pieces. Any band who has a song called 'Blitzkrieg Air Attack' has got to be mad, this is thrash from the asylum, a hyper and far more demented Overkill to some, played at crazy speed and dishing out the mayhem. There aren't many bands today who could come up with such a frenetic record, check out the crazy soloing on 'Executed' or the relentless 'Destroy.' Hirax sum up mid '80s thrash, but not many bands were faster. 7/10