Hirax

Overlooked during their formative years, Bay Area moshers Hirax are only now starting to receive their due for having a major role in shaping the world of thrash metal. Thusly, the band finally release their first full-fledged live DVD, Thrash And Destroy, captured live in Germany recently. Gritty, loud and fast, the band tear through 20 pieces of timeless rage accented by the grainy, basement-quality film stock. Still, it only serves to amplify the sweaty, greasy atmosphere that music of this sort thrives in. While the bonus material could have been fleshed out with something other than more live songs — like, an interview or old footage — for bona fide metal heads, Thrash And Destroy is the closest we’ll get to seeing one of the few bands cut from this cloth still waving the thrash metal flag high and proud.