After releasing some demos, Hirax signed with Metal Blade and debuted with their first full-length, Raging Violence in 1985. The band was composed of Katon W. De Pena, Scott Owen, Gary Monardo and John Tabares. In 1986, John Tabares left the band and Eric Brecht joined. After the change, they released their second album, called Hate, Fear and Power under pressure of the label. After this release, the band quit the label and independently released a demo called Blasted In Bangkok in 1987. But with tensions and disillusions in the band, De Pena decided to leave and form a new band with Gene Hoglan, and Ron McGovney. They called themselves Phantasm and released a six-track demo in 1988. After a brief tour with Nuclear Assault, they broke up. In 1989, after De Pena left, the replacement was Paul Baloff. But soon after the band broke up.
Reunion
De Pena stayed involved in the regional underground music scene and took a job working at a local music store. In 1997, he featured one of his old songs on a split 7" with Spazz, the band of one of his friends. By 1998 De Pena had received enough fan mail and interest which encouraged him to reunite Hirax in 2000. De Pena reunited the band with the original lineup of Scott Owen, Gary Monardo, and John Tabares, releasing the El Diablo Negro EP in 2000. In 2002, the band played in Abrasive Rock Fest. In 2003, the band played in Bang Your Head Festival, in Germany. The lineup completely changed, and Hirax released the albumBarrage of Noise in 2001 with James Joseph Hubler, Justin Lent, and Nick Sellinger. This line-up was brief as well. In 2003, De Pena recruited an entirely new lineup again, and released the album The New Age of Terror in 2004 with guitarists Dave Watson and Glenn Rogers, bassist Angelo Espino, and drummer Jorge Iacobellis. That line-up, due to irreconcilable differences, followed in the trend of the other line-ups and broke up. The band released their fourth studio albumEl Rostro de la Muerte in the spring of 2009. On July 20, 2013 Hirax performed at the International Festival Convivencia Rock 2013 that took place in Pereira, Risaralda. 36 bands played in the 3 days festival and 10.000 people gathered each day of the event. On February 24, 2014, the band released their latest album titled Immortal Legacy, courtesy of Steamhammer Records. March 2015 saw the band play in the UKfor the first time in their history, beginning with an appearance at Hammerfest in Gwynedd, Wales. Hirax still performs regularly to this day, and they are currently working on a new album, which is due for release in 2020 or 2021.
