Interview with Katon of HIRAX 2008
By Bradley Smith
I was
watching the Get Thrashed DVD the other day and you play a significant role on
it. How did they get you involved in that project? What sort of feelings did
it bring to mind when you were talking about the “old” days of thrash? What do
you think of the finished product?
KATON: ‘Get Thrashed’ wan an honour for me to be a part of. They contacted me about doing a documentary - the story of thrash metal and asked me to do the interview… so I did! During the interview it brought up a lot of good memories of the thrash metal scene. To be honest with you… we discussed things that I hadn’t talked about for many, many years. I think that it’s great that there is a movie about the early period of thrash metal in America and throughout the world. If it wasn’t for ‘Get Thrashed’ a lot of the history of thrash metal would have been lost! This film is a true document of the Thrash Metal genre. Obviously the film could not cover everything… but it definitely shows a very important part of this metal movement. The finished product is incredible! And after viewing the whole entire DVD I am quite happy with it.
HIRAX was one of the first metal bands with some true “Crossover” accessibility. How do you feel you were able to successfully bring together those two disparate scenes where so many others had failed?
KATON: I feel GREAT about it! I am quite proud! From the beginning, when HIRAX first started, that was our total intention… to do something different. To bridge Metal with Hardcore and Punk… like nobody had done before us. We grew up on bands like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ramones, Venom, Motorhead, Discharge, GBH, Bad Brains, Tank, Trust, Baron Rojo, Black Flag, etc. I guess that you could say that it was always in our blood to bring these styles together to create our own original HIRAX sound. Keep in mind, that no matter what, HIRAX will ALWAYS remain TRUE to THRASH METAL!!
HIRAX broke some boundaries during their time. One of which was a high profile African American frontman who was into METAL. Were you ever treated any differently because of race and has it ever really been an issue or were able to make an instant connection to the fans through mutual love of METAL?
KATON: I never have really thought about race being an issue. That’s probably been the best thing about it for me. It’s all about respecting each other. I think that the reason that HIRAX works so well with our fans is because we give them total respect and they give us the same in return. I love metal and will always remain true to it until the day I die!!
HIRAX has a new DVD, Thrash and Destroy. Can you tell us what this is comprised of and why you chose the material on it that you did?
KATON: We are very proud of this release! “Thrash and Destroy” is our first real, official, high quality, live production DVD. It consists of selected tracks from all of our previous HIRAX albums and the sound quality and production is excellent and professional. Top quality artwork, photos, and liner notes. This is one hell of a package! Includes audio CD! Recorded live at the legendary Keep It True Festival in Germany. It represents the band at its finest. Released in U.S.A. Black Devil Records / Deep Six Records and in Europe with different artwork by Selfmadegod Records.
Several members of other bands have said you have really distinctive vocals. What qualities do you think give you your Vocal individuality? I have heard you have a really unique cadence to your singing style. Would you agree? Incidentally who are some of your personal favourite vocalists?
KATON: The main thing about my vocal style is that it is completely my own. Obviously I have influences - singers such as Rob Halford, Ian Gillan (Deep Purple), early Ozzy Osbourne (when he was in Black Sabbath), Paul Dianno (the first Iron Maiden singer), etc. but I have always tried to be myself and sing in my own way. I think that is what separates me from other singers is that I am only trying to be myself and nobody else. I never had singing lessons… so I just came up with my own way of singing. I think for any other young singers out there… the main thing that they should keep in mind is just to be themselves… that’s what I do.
My approach is to come through loud and clear and to get right in people’s faces and sing it out loud!
It
would appear that Metal for you is a lifestyle, a belief system even. What sort
of dedication does it require of you to live METAL? What do you think is
involved with living METAL?
KATON: living metal is definitely a sacrifice and it IS my LIFE! My wife and I are both totally committed to doing what we do. HIRAX is our priority, our family, and pretty much our religion. We sleep and eat it 24/7! The main thing is that we love it and that’s why we do it. In order for any musician / bands to get anywhere (be successful) with your music you must be dedicated 110%!! Let me put it to you this way… there is not a day that goes by that we are not busy working on HIRAX… including all weekends, holidays, etc.
You said that all of the HIRAX albums represent different times/periods in your life. Can you give us a little insight as to what each album was representing from your life and how you translated that to the music on those albums?
KATON: “Raging Violence” (1985) and “Hate, Fear and Power” (1986) were done at a time in my life where I was very young. Youthful energy was an instrument/weapon that we used on those records. We played very fast. The metal came from our hearts you can hear it when you listen to those records. As we moved on to records like “Barrage of Noise” (2001) we still played the metal from our hearts… but we have progressed in the technical playing of our music. While still remaining fast and heavy we now know different ways to approach writing songs and delivering gut wrenching metal. “Barrage of Noise” is probably one of the more raw sounding records that we have done. As we move on to “The New Age of Terror” (2004) the songs get a bit longer and more complex. The production becomes bigger and better and a new direction comes to fruition and now the band has matured into a complete heavy metal machine! Next up is the EP “Assassins of War” (2006) which shows more progression in the song writing and a little bit more melody. Still staying true to thrash metal the band shows a deeper guitar direction intertwining rapid guitar solos into the song structures. The band is continuing to grow and build on their thrash metal roots. Up to “Thrash and Destroy” (2008) the newest release DVD/CD the band continues to learn and become a better unit all together. The best HIRAX music is yet to come, prepare yourselves… the wait is almost over!! Once the HIRAX legions hear the newest studio album, “El Rostro de la Muerte” (“The Face of Death”) they will know that HIRAX continues to release brutal heavy metal music.
As I am sure you are aware, there is a Thrash resurgence sweeping the scene right now. Why do think this is and what is your opinion of all these youngsters taking up the banner of thrash after such a long layoff? What makes thrash so powerful that it is now really making an impact on a younger audience?
KATON: To be honest with you I think the reason that there is a resurgence is because thrash metal is one of the greatest forms of music EVER! It never really died… it just went away for a little while. Now it has returned bigger and better than ever! As to the young thrash metal bands, I think that is great that they are carrying on the torch. The main thing that people need to keep in mind is if these bands will still be around 10 or 15 years from now. That is what will separate them from the other bands. Longevity is the key, which is what I am proud of. Doing thrash metal for over 20 years it is a dream come true!
A lot of people/bands have come and gone… so those who are still around… are the TRUE THRASH METAL WARRIORS!! I have a lot of respect for my peers such as Exodus, Testament, Destruction, Kreator, etc. We have strongly proven the fact that we all are diehard and we live by the motto “Thrash ‘Til Death”!!
On a
similar note, what are some similarities you see between the thrash scenes of
old and that of the new wave of thrash? What are some differences? Do you
think the spirit still lives or did it die with the old scene? Do you ever get
nostalgic for the old days or are you more excited about the modern era of
metal?
KATON: it will never be the same as is was in the early days. Then it was new and exciting! The younger bands are lucky because they have a blueprint to go by. When we all started out in the beginning there was no blueprint. We started something new and original. There was nothing like it until we all started playing thrash metal. The spirit is kind of similar. Definitely the people are still excited about thrash metal, but I really haven’t seen anything that much different than what the early pioneers were doing back in the early 80s. I am glad that the young bands are trying to pick up where a lot of the early 80s bands left off. One major difference that I do notice in the shows is… it is a lot more peaceful now than it was in the early 80s. The shows are still wild – stage diving, slam pits, etc. but not very many fights. Nobody gets hurt like they used to in the early days. I am quite happy about that. I am excited about the future of thrash metal… but we will have to wait and see. Another major difference now compared to the early days is the internet. It the old days it was all about tape trading, but now with the internet things are a lot faster and you can get music/information on your favourite bands faster than the speed of light!! It’s amazing!!
What made you found Black Devil Records? What do you use it as a vehicle for? I mean it is bigger in scope than just HIRAX material. I see it distributes a lot of old school merchandise. What do you use to determine what you will sell? How involved are you in it?
KATON: We started Black Devil Records as the home base and main office for ALL HIRAX operations. We do distribute other band’s merchandise. The main thing that we try to do with other artists that we distribute is carry the BEST and HEAVIEST music from around the world. Most of the bands have something in common with HIRAX. We are totally 100% involved in all of Black Devil Records. It is our company and we run it with the intentions of giving our fans TOP quality merchandise! The reason that we started Black Devil Records was to make sure that all HIRAX product and merchandise was easier for our fans to get their hands on. What is great about it is if our fans have problems getting our stuff they can contact www.blackdevilrecords.com and we will make sure that they get what they are looking for TRUE METAL!
Off the topic of metal for a second, the USA is getting ready to undergo a landmark election. Are you at all following this one and will you vote? How do you feel about the current state of politics in America?
KATON: How could I not be aware of what is going on? The election is a very big deal here in the U.S.A. and probably all over the world. We hope for change because we know that our overall image has been tarnished worldwide over the 8 years because of the Bush administration. The amercians would like to see a major change in our government. No matter who gets into office we need to change a lot of things!
We are not really a political band, so I don’t want to get too political, but we do care about what the rest of the world thinks of us. We are a better country than what our government has shown over the last 8 years.
What upcoming Plans do you have for HIRAX? When can we expect new recorded material? Any live dates we should be aware of?
KATON: Now that we have “Thrash and Destroy” DVD/CD officially release worldwide we have begun to finish work on our next studio album “El Rostro de la Muerte” (“The Face of Death”) which will be released in early 2009. Expect a lot of touring worldwide with major tours in Europe, North and South America, Japan, etc.
We are looking forward to seeing all of the fans and carrying on our metal mission!!
Hails again Katon and thanks for the interview. I’ll leave any Last Words of raging violence to you.
KATON: Thank you for the great interview!
We would like to thank all of the fans for all of the support over the years!
We will continue to deliver TRUE HEAVY METAL to the HIRAX legions!
We will see you on tour VERY SOON! RAISE THE METAL HAMMERS!!!
For more information, tour dates, merchandise, photos, etc.
PO Box 1474 | Cypress, CA 90630 U.S.A.