A legion of metalheads crammed into the humble Metro Gallery in Baltimore on Friday, March 27 to witness a lesson in metal mastery. 80s thrash legends Hirax made their way eastward from their native California for a nine-date mini-US tour. Joining them on the tour package are rockin’ Kentucky macabre masters Savage Master and DC death/thrash heavyweights Desolus.
Although many, including myself, were there to thrash along with the west coast metal warriors, it was a special and exemplary night for the local DMV scene. The newly formed metalpunk quartet Devilust opened and played their first show to the accolades of the “denim & leather” crowd, showcasing that the scene is still thriving with new talented bands. Total Maniac, from Baltimore, was celebrating the release of their second record “Love Overdrive” and DC’s Desolus are a part of the tour package and driving up fierce anticipation for their forthcoming sophomore record.
Devilust starts the mayhem!
Devilust opened the show and did not draw back any punches. “WE ARE DEVILUST” the lead singer announced in his jagged voice. The feedback of the guitars enveloped the room, and they kicked into a pounding Discharge-style riff. Not even a minute into their set, and a mosh pit broke out, a stamp of approval from metalheads. They breezed through five blackened metalpunk tunes echoing the same rotten sentiment of the first couple Venom records, ending their set with a cover of the English trio’s legendary track “Angel Dust”. The music sounds promising, and the band showcased a solid level of musicianship, especially for their debut gig.
Total Maniac keeps the momentum going.
Total Maniac assumed the stage next, and as mentioned before, were celebrating the release of their sophomore record “Love Overdrive” that night. Sunglasses and alcoholic seltzers galore, Total Maniac turned the “lust, filth, and sleaze” factor to eleven with aptly titled songs such as “Drinkin’ Our Way to Hell” and “Love Overdrive”. In an ironic twist, it was after “Drinkin’ Our Way to Hell” in which a 12-pack of Miller Lite made its way to the stage, and the boys began distributing the drinks among themselves. As for the empty box? An audience member championed the box on their head as they ran among the others in the mosh pit. Lead singer Diamond Dustin is a “total maniac”, as the band name would suggest, in the nicest way possible. His rough and unrestrained shrieks and vocals complimented the dingy back-alley blues leads of guitarists Micheal Brown and Nick Etson. While the rock n’ roll rhythm swagger was handled by bassist Ben Martin and drummer Vaughn Volkman. The entire vibe of the band was captured in a single sentence shouted by Diamond Dustin at the end of the set, “We’re Total Maniac, **** you!”.
The band provided a fun lovin’ good time for the “beer drinkers & hell raisers” in the audience but coming out of it none of the songs really stuck with me.
Hometown heroes “Desolus” crushed their debut performance as a four piece.
The venue was really starting to fill up by the time Desolus hit the stage, and pure excitement was in the air. This was another special set for many reasons. Firstly, this was their debut show on home turf as a four-piece, with former drummer Travis Stone having moved to second guitar and touring drummer Bileh Dougsiyeh now behind the kit permanently. In addition to this, the band had announced their upcoming album “Dwellers of The Twilight Void” and released an accompanying single a couple of days prior, which was featured in the set along with other new material. Furthermore, it was the opening date of the tour they were doing with Savage Master and Hirax. Desolus never fails to get the crowd going, especially in their hometown, and this time it was no different. It is a pleasure to see their growth as musicians and performers each time I catch them live. Having seen them as a three-piece previously, the “addition” of Travis Stone on second guitar makes an enormous impact on their sound. The riffs are more crushing and punishing on the ear, and the sound is fuller building the hellish atmosphere they aim for, that and the crimson red stage lights (you will never see Desolus under vibrant neon lights). The new songs displayed an evolution in their songwriting, toying with more dynamics and slightly more intricate song structures. “System Shock” and “From Man to Machine” are Desolus classics at this point and had the crowd shouting the choruses back at them. I’d say Desolus had a big part in my sore neck the following morning, which means they did great!
Savage Master excites the audience with a ghastly stage show and performance.
Savage Master played to a nearly sold-out audience and gave them the stage show of their weirdest, most twisted, and campy horror dreams. Coffins, candelabras, chalices, chains, blood, whips, daggers and how about a band dressed in medieval executioner’s hoods and a walk-on devil mascot to round it all off. All of these are the core of a Savage Master show. Musically, I’m not a big fan of the band; it is insanely generic traditional heavy metal that doesn’t have the songwriting prowess to compensate for its lack of originality. That being said, it lends itself well as a soundtrack to the magnificent stage show they put on. Who has time to worry about hooks and song structure when lead singer Stacey Savage is holding a dagger to the guitar player’s neck? The audience appeared to love every second of it and begrudgingly I gave into tapping my toe a bit. Stacey Savage and the faceless band carry so much conviction it makes you forget about the music and more concerned with what antics they’ll pull on stage next. The heavily theatric show contrasted the more stripped-downvibe of the night nicely, and Savage Master proved themselves a dramatic force to be reckoned with.
Hirax’s Stage Show and Performance
Before Hirax reached the stage, I was a bit worried as to how they would maintain the energy level of a crowd that had been non-stop thrashing for close to four hours at that point. As soon as they kicked into their opening track “Hellion Rising” any doubt I had disappeared. My fears were wiped off the face of the earth as soon as Hirax vocalist Katon W. De Pena launched himself into the crowd.
The setlist comprised about twenty songs spanning over 40 years of music, six studio albums, and countless singles and EPs. It had a healthy blend of all eras of the band and left the audience fulfilled.
Throughout the hour plus set of blistering thrash, the band did not miss a single beat. 62-year-old Katon W. De Pena was belting at his best and giving a masterclass in acrobatics. The rest of the band exerted extreme technical skill keeping up with the breakneck speeds of a lot of Hirax songs.
Hirax makes a lasting impression on the crowd.
Hirax, and specifically lead singer Katon W. De Pena, has a deep appreciation for the city of Baltimore which he let the audience know multiple times during the set and after as well. I’ve been at the last two shows Hiraxhas played in the area, and it is very apparent that the feeling is mutual. The crowd goes absolutely electric in the presence of the thrash heroes.
The beauty of seeing Hirax live is their spontaneous nature. You never really know what you’re going to get. There is a focus on crowd interaction and crowd dynamics which influence what songs they choose to play, or in Baltimore’s case “creating” a song on the spot which is promised to be on a future Hirax release!
Hirax appreciates their fans and put on an extremely engaging live performance.
Hirax are not only tight musicians who have rocked with the best past and present, but they are the most loveable bunch of thrashers and chaotically fun live band I have seen to date. They emphasize that there is no barrier between band and audience, and they made it known multiple times throughout the night. Fist bumping the crowd any chance there was, letting fans hop on stage, and constant bursts of conversation between songs in the set. It’s a refreshing take in a world of musicians who take themselves too seriously, sometimes lacking the talent in between. I’ll leave this review with an anecdote which captures the honorary relationship between the band and its fans.
The mosh pit is in full throttle; bodies are being flung left and right, and Katon, before the next song starts, makes a declaration of war. “Anybody who wants to come up on this stage, go ahead and do that ****” he exclaimed. Hirax kicks into “The Plague” and droves of thrashers begin rushing the stage, letting the audience decide their fate. The song begins its riff break, spotlighting the guitar to drive up momentum. Hirax guitar player Jeremy Perez lines himself up, starts to play, and then…silence. A fan accidentally cut the sound of the guitar while up on the stage. The audience and band were left confused for a couple seconds while they tried to figure out what happened. The fan was noticeably shaken, and venue staff were slowly approaching the stage to kick him out. It was at that moment Katon stopped the venue staff and after the song’s completion stated, “we love that ****…you guys gotta entertain us back y’know”. He interacted with that fan multiple times throughout the night, reassuring him and the crowd that the band appreciates that type of energy.
Verdict
Hirax proved themselves once again as an unstoppable force on stages everywhere and anywhere even 40 years into their career, and the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) music scene had an exceptional night, pinning itself as one of the strongest local music scenes in the United States.
