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Well, this kicks ass. Somehow some of these older thrash bands can show the kids how it's done, and that's certainly true of Hirax with this new album. Did I say album? It's just under 22 minutes. That's more like an EP anywhere, but according to the promo sheet, it's an album.

Faster than Death may be very short, but there's not a second wasted, Hirax throwing their brand of old-school thrash with a modern kick; it's like living in two periods at the same time, with some of this really reminiscent of '80s thrash but sounding a bit like post-2000 thrash—not the "revival" stuff, but actual modern thrash (that's not always a good thing, but in this specific case, it is). The razor-sharp guitars will slice your eardrums, the clean, shouted vocals are a nice reprieve from the harsher style used by a lot of bands and some of the vocal lines just scream for you to sing along. It's impossible not to headbang all the way through, just good old thrash without any pretension other than to give you a good time. Every time I listen to this, I can't help but picture a monstrous mosh pit when these songs are played live. Kick ass stuff all the way through. The 22-minute duration is weird as hell, but maybe one couldn't survive more of this in one sitting?