March 14th, 2025 - Faster Than Irish Death!

 

Hey there headbangers, thrashers, and craft beer drinking freaks!  Happy Friday!  Your drinking buddy, the Meista here today getting the weekend off the right way with a kick-ass pairing of "Faster Than Death", the fantastic, new album by the mighty HIRAX and a malty and delicious Quilter's Irish Death Dark Smooth Ale from the fine folks at Iron Horse Brewery!!  Hell yeah!!  And a big thank you to Brad and Susie Davis for giving me this tasty brew!  Cheers!

Album Info: 

• Artist: HIRAX
• Title: "Faster Than Death"
• Recorded: 2024 Skull Seven Studio in North Hollywood, California and Beach Avenue Studio in Inglewood, California
• Release date: February 21st, 2025 (6th full-length studio release by Hirax)
• Record company: Doomentia Records
• Production: Hirax and mastered by the legendary Bill Metoyer 
• Album cover art: Thomas Pinheiro (artwork) and Tom G. Warrior (original band logo) 
• Personnel: Katon W. De Pena (vocals), Neil Metcalf (guitars and bass), and Danny Walker (drums and percussion) 
• Musical style: Thrash metal, speed metal
• Sound: Contemporaries of Slayer, Exodus, Overkill, and Megadeth, HIRAX hails from the L.A. and Bay Area thrash metal scene of the mid-1980s.  With crossover fierceness, HIRAX blends speed metal, thrash, and punk to create an aggressive and intense sound, which you will definitely find on the wonderful "Faster Than Death" album.  This is an album that will stab you right between the eyes and make your ears bleed, and you will beg for more!  It is topical, angry, fast, and above all, honest!  If you love thrash metal (and I know you do!), then you MUST own this album!
• Major themes: Death, violence, war, evil, insanity, power, destruction, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Drill Into The Brain"
2. "Armageddon"
   
3. "Drowned Bodies"
4. "Faster Than Death"
5. "Psychiatric Ward"
6. "Relentless"
7. "Revenant"
8. "Warlords Command"
9. "Worlds End"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Iron Horse Brewery (Washington)
• Website: https://www.ironhorsebrewery.com/
• Brew: Quilter's Irish Death Dark Smooth Ale
• Style: American Strong Ale
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 7.8%
• Pour: The Quilter's Irish Death Dark Smooth Ale pours a deep, mahogany red with a 1+ finger, mocha, frothy head with great retention and lots of soapy, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a characterized by rich, malty, chocolatey, and sweet aromas.  There are aromas of dark toasted bread, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa, light medium roast coffee, dark fruits, a hint of rum or bourbon, and sweet burnt toffee.
• Taste: Well-balanced, the Quilter's Irish Death Dark Smooth Ale has a nice blend of bready, malty, toasty, roasty, and sweet flavors.  There are notes of dark roasted malts, toasted bread, dark chocolate, cocoa, light coffee, hints of dark fruits (raisin, prune, black cherry) sweet caramel/toffee, and a hint of warming booze.
• Mouthfeel: Full-bodied and moderately carbonated, the mouthfeel is very smooth with a sweet, slightly boozy finish. 

Overall pairing: The Iron Horse Quilter's Irish Death Dark Smooth Ale is a sweet, malty, complex, yet inviting brew... perfect for the complexities, intricacies, and raw brilliance of "Faster Than Death" by the indelible HIRAX!  The flavors and aromas of this tasty brew blend wonderfully well with the powerful vocals, fiery guitars, and thunderous bombast of the bass and drums!

If you haven't done so already, check out my interview with the legendary Katon W. De Pena here: https://youtu.be/v4eCg2C9IGY

Cheers!!  And hails!!