Hirax and The Accused played as the headliners of this years Seattle Metalfest, however time constraints kept me from covering the other local acts. For this I apologize, check out http://www.seattlemetalfest.com/ for more information on the annual festival.

This was my second time seeing The Accused since their reunion in November of last year and the umpteenth time since they formed back in the day. As one would expect they put on an extremely high energy show featuring such classics as "Slow Death," "Martha Splatterhead," "Wrong Side of the Grave," and more. As usual frontman Blaine pretty much stole the show with his high leaps, bizarre facial expressions and unique vocal delivery. Tommy, Alex and Steve provided a solid background for Blaine's insanity, working at a fever pace to keep up. Crowd reaction was impressive; there was a decent circle pit despite the showroom floor being very small, beers were spilled and bodies were bruised. All in all a great, albeit too short, set for The Accused even though they neglected to play "Fucking for Bucks." Now if they would just record a new album. Sorry for the incomplete set list but I was far too busy protecting my self and my camera to take notes.

Accused photos from this show can be found here

Before the Accused went on I saw most of the members of Hirax floating around the venue but frontman Katon W. De Pena was conspicuously absent, even during the short soundcheck before the band's set began. Not to worry though, as soon as the metal fog began billowing out the diminutive powerhouse took the stage with the rest of his bandmates, clad in black leather and studs. Despite the fact that most of the crowd took off after The Accused, leaving a single row of headbangers against the front of the stage, Hirax delivered a one hour plus precision assault on the ears of the few hardcore that remained. The enthusiasm shown in the situation by Katon and the rest of the guys proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they love to perform. The band began the set with "Massacre of the Innocent" and by the time they got around to playing "Destroy" the remaining hardcore up front were headbanging at a frantic pace and singing along, providing a much louder reaction than one would think possible for so few people. The set consisted of a broad sampling from all the Hirax releases, from the debut "Raging Violence" to their latest "The New Age of Terror." The latest Hirax lineup is very solid and tight with pro stage moves and presence that was somewhat limited by the smallish stage at the club. I ran into Katon after the show and was quite surprised he remembered me from when they played here over two years ago. Our conversation proved that Katon is a man who loves metal and will undoubtedly be performing with passion and intestity for many years to come, hopefully with the same lineup as they work very well together. If you have a chance to see this latest incarnation of Hirax do so, if you're not headbanging after a few minutes you must have a broken neck!

Hirax photos from this show can be found here

Hirax set list:
Massacre of the Innocent
Blind Faith
The New Age of Terror
Hate, Fear and Power
Hostile Territory
Destroy
Broken Neck
El Diablo Negro
Killswitch
Demons Evil Forces
Suffer
Barrage of Noise
Walk with Death
The Plague
Mouth Sewn Shut
Bombs of Death
Into the Ruins
Unleash the Dogs of War