Sometimes a band grows so exponentially from one record to the next, it’s almost jarring. Hell Fire has already established themselves as the preeminent masters of a new hybrid breed of Bay Area thrash and NWOBHM in just a few short years, but their fourth album Reckoning is the type of ascendance that truly sets a band apart. Reckoning is their Master Of Puppets, their Number Of The Beast, their Defenders Of The Faith. From the very first notes of the album opening title track, you can feel a vital new energy and inspiration to their music. To say Hell Fire used the recent global downtime to dig within and fully refine their sound would be an understatement. It truly is a reckoning. “This album is every aspect of our band amplified to its maximum potential,” says singer / guitarist Jake Nunn. “This is the record we’ve always wanted to make, and it feels like we’re just getting started,” guitarist Tony Campos adds. “We wanted to push ourselves musically and capture some of our frustrations, anger, loneliness, and rage over being locked inside and dealing with life during a global pandemic in the days when no one really knew how to navigate,” says drummer Mike Smith. With no touring on the horizon in 2020, the band hunkered down and recorded nearly a full album in preproduction home demos. “I set up a little studio in my garage to record guitar, bass, and vocal tracks,” Campos says. “While Mike bought an...
CD $12.00
08/12/2022
LP $24.00
08/26/2022
The free-wheelin’ creativity and infectious vitality of the ’80s Bay Area thrash scene is a moment forever locked in time, but its spirit lives on in the galloping guitar picks, soaring harmonies and blistering rhythms of San Francisco quartet Hell Fire. The band’s perfect hybrid of NWOBHM theatrics and American thrash attitude delivers a rousing and genuine expansion on sounds long lost to pointless battles over who can be the most “extreme.” Mania, the band’s third album and proper debut on Riding Easy Records warmly condenses elements of influences like Angel Witch, Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Exodus, Metallica, Riot, Virtue and Diamond Head into ten tracks of headbanging MUYA anthems. “Thematically, everything on the album comes from personal experiences,” says vocalist / guitarist Jake Nunn. “From the highs of partying together out here in Oakland, or the nostalgia of being a kid learning Zeppelin on a beat up guitar, to the extreme lows of isolation, personal trauma, and mental illness. Sonically we want our records to sound like you’re standing in front of the stage at a show. The power of Marshall stacks in front of your face, drums at your ear level, thunder of the bass and feeling the presence of the room.” Hell Fire achieves just that—and then some—on Mania.
LP $19.75
03/29/2019
CD $12.00
03/29/2019
Formed in recent years in San Francisco (though it may seem more likely that they hatched fresh out of a time travel portal from the mid-’80s Bay Area thrash scene), Hell Fire have the classic look and sound of modern metal’s halcyon days. Their sonic assault warmly condenses elements of Angel Witch, Iron Maiden, Rainbow, Exodus, Metallica, Riot, Virtue and Diamond Head into eight tracks of headbanging MUYA anthems. The free-wheelin’ creativity and infectious vitality of Bay Area thrash is a moment forever locked in time, but its spirit lives on in this band’s galloping guitar picks, soaring harmonies and blistering rhythms. The band’s perfect hybrid of NWOBHM theatrics and American thrash attitude delivers a rousing and genuine expansion on sounds long lost to pointless battles over who can be the most “extreme.” Hell Fire began when bass player Herman Bandala moved to San Francisco from Tijuana, Mexico, with the hopes of forming a heavy metal band. Herman posted an ad to Craigslist which caught the attention of guitarist Tony Campos. They bonded over a mutual love of ’80s thrash and NWOBHM. Just before they entered the studio to record their debut album Metal Masses, Jake Nunn joined on vocals. The lineup continued to develop over time, finally solidifying with Nunn also taking up second guitar duties and drummer Mike Smith joining prior to recording Free Again. This sophomore album is being released for the first time on vinyl and remastered for CD and download. It was recorded over five...
LP $19.75
01/18/2019
CD $12.00
02/15/2019