Never as successful as any of the Big Four Of Thrash, but just as adept when it came to riffing at great speed and wearing skin-tight jeans and high-tops, the New Jersey quintet Hades now enjoy cult respect among fans of 80s metal.
This live show from ’88, where the band played a support slot with Manowar, demonstrates exactly what it was like to perform on the lower echelons of the thrash metal scene two decades ago. It’s supported by an excellent documentary in which the band-members (now shorn of the curly mullets and wearing superior trousers) take the viewer through the band’s origins as a cheesy covers act before they started taking things seriously and playing metal. Most importantly for anyone who’s been wondering what the band members have been doing since the 80s, we’re also taken through their brief reformation in the late 90s and their current material. In particular, there’s a new video clip which shows that Hades, and especially guitarist and primary songwriter Dan Lorenzo, have retained their old spark.
