Since the Big 8 were the doorway for me into heavier music, I have a soft spot for thrash. To the delight of many listeners like myself, there has been a great resurgence of thrash as of late. Members of those Big 8, like Testament, Overkill, and Death Angel, have had some great records the last few years. There has also been a new generation of thrash bands emerging from all over the globe, but they still have the classic Bay area sound. Bands such as Mortillery, Lost Society, and Battalion have picked up the thrash torch to carry it into the future. Another such band is Hyades. Formed in Busto Arsizio, Italy in 1996, they were not really noticed until the release of their debut album “Abuse Your Illusions” in 2005. Two years later they issued their sophomore effort, “And the Worst is Yet to Come,” and then “The Roots of Trash” in 2009. After a six year hiatus that included a bass player and a record label change, Hyades is finally back with a new album, “The Wolves Are Getting Hungry,” released on Punishment 18 records June 30, 2015.
“The Wolves Are Getting Hungry” starts out a little slower than a usual Hyades record. As a matter of fact, there are probably more mid-tempo songs on this album than any they have had before. But never fear, the riffs of guitarists Lorenzo Testa and Marco Negonda are still strong in the tradition of their thrash forefathers. Marco Colombo jumps right in and gets things started with his made-for-thrash vocals on ‘The Economist.’ He even throws a hint of melody in the chorus to keep things fresh. We find this is the case on many of the other mid-tempo chuggers like ‘The Decay of Humankind,’ ‘The Great Lie,’ and the ridiculously lyriced ‘Sing This Rhyme.’ When Hyades does pick up the pace, which they do so swimmingly on the blistering ‘Ignorance Is No Excuse,’ ‘Heavier Than Shit (Hyz IV),’ and my new theme song ‘Eight Beers After.’ The remaining tracks, ‘The Apostles of War,’ title track, and ‘Hyades (2015 Version),’ fit somewhere in between, and retain that thrashy crunch we expect.
“The Wolves Are Getting Hungry” is not your typical Hyades album, but that is alright. The band has been gone for a while and you would expect some changes over time. Luckily, not so many changes that you do not recognize the band they were before. All in all, “The Wolves Are Getting Hungry” is good effort from Hyades, and I for one am glad to see them back!
Tracklist:
01. The Economist
02. Ignorance Is No Excuse
03. The Decay of Humankind
04. The Apostles of War
05. The Great Lie
06. Heavier Than Shit (Hyz IV)
07. Sing This Rhyme
08. Eight Beers After
09. The Wolves Are Getting Hungry
10. Hyades (2015 version)
Playing time: 45:53
Release date: June 30, 2015
Label: Punishment 18 Records
Website: facebook.com/HyadesBand
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