About Me
*All songs uploaded with permission by Jeff Hatrix.
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Hatrix came together in 1989 in Cleveland, Ohio after vocalist Jeff Hatrix left the band Purgatory. He teamed up with former Centurion guitarist Dave Felton, and eventually Dave’s brother Steve on drums and bassist Kevin Skelly. Their first known recording was for the local Heavy Artillery compilation in 1990 from Auburn Records. The song was called “Sins Of A Bastard Angel,†a step toward the more hostile sound the band wanted to achieve with their new project.
In 1990, Hatrix went into the Mars Studio to record their first EP entitled “My Asylum.†Produced by Bill Korecky, this EP demonstrated just what Hatrix as a whole was capable of. The brutal lyrics and powerful vocals, shredding guitars, core-penetrating bass and violent drums was something the world of Metal wasn’t quite prepared for.
Word quickly spread about the intensity of their live shows. Rhythm guitarist Marko Vukcevich joined the lineup to bring an even more booming sound. They soon became known as one of the best Metal bands in the area, an honor once shared by Jeff’s former band, Purgatory.
Another EP was released in 1993 entitled “collisioncoursewithnoplace.†This six-song EP was a step in a slightly different direction than the band has previously followed. The riffs were a bit heavier on some tracks, and others had a sound like no Hatrix fan would’ve expected. The song “No One†was a prime example of the versatility that this band could achieve. It mixed some heavy guitarwork with some very soft and melodic sounds as well. The vocals were striking in the chorus and yet soft and almost vulnerable in the verses.
In the same year, Hatrix independently released their first two demos as one full album that is known by both “Hatrix†and “Revolution.†At this time, a German-based record label called Massacre Records was checking out the Cleveland scene. They had signed several other local bands, and now had their eye on Hatrix. The band re-recorded the tracks on the “collisioncoursewithnoplace†EP, the song “My Asylum†from the EP of the same name, and recorded six other new songs. This was all put together in the band’s first label release, which they also called "collisioncoursewithnoplace,†in 1994.
With the release of this album, Hatrix also independantly put out another EP (on cassette only) called “anotherbadmemory.†This EP included five demos from the album that were not also on the “collisioncoursewithnoplace†EP, plus two other songs. Not long afterward, Massacre Records shut down and the band was left without a label.
They continued playing live shows and, in the meantime, most of the members started up a new band called Mushroomhead. Even with the rapidly spreading success of this band, Hatrix was not over. In 1996, they recorded a song called “Intimidation†for “Industry Compilation†and “Freedom†for the Mushroomhead Inc. Sampler in 1998.
Hatrix was then dormant for seven years until they decided to play a few more shows in 2005. Fans from ten years prior still came to show their support and stated that the band was just as intense as always.
As for the future of Hatrix: they plan on releasing “anotherbadmemory†on CD eventually, but for now they are on hiatus and have no definite plans for any more albums or shows.
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Additional Band Info from Kenny (myspace.com/stormofsteel).
Hatrix first started with Gary Estok (Sacred Few) on drums (1989). He played the drums on "Sins of a Bastard Angel". Heavy Artillery also lists him in the lineup and says "also available - Hate: In Your Face demo". This is a tape that was never released, but according to rumor this included other songs from the Sins of A Bastard Angel days with Gary.
The pictures on my flyers and the pic in Heavy Artillery all have Gary. Its fucked up because one flyer says to call up the radio station and request "Attitudes"...so they did have a recorded version with Gary. It makes me wonder if the Distant Thunder version really had Steve or not. It says Steve is in the band, but it released just months after he joined so I dont know if they re-recorded it at the last minute or just said Steve was on it (that happens a lot). Its kinda weird...
Distant Thunder was on Underground Express records.
The My Asylum demo was released independently, but the band had thier own label name. On Re-Issue it just says "copyright 1993" for My Asylum, but on the Self-Titled it says "copyright 1993...HATE CIRCLE RECORDS". Thats the label listed in the original tape, even though its just the band releasing it. They didnt use "Hate Circle Records" for the "collisoncourse..." demo though.
Also, Freedom and Intimidation were recorded in 1995, and released on the Anotherbadmemory demo. Hatrix released these 2 songs later on on the comps, but they just used the Anotherbadmemory recordings. The other songs on the demo are re-recorded "Collisoncourse..." songs, with some minor differences in the playing, production, etc. The biggest difference is that "Psychoface" has a whole fucked up intro thing.
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Distant Thunder: Sounds Of The Cleveland Metal Storm (1989)
1. Hatrix - Attitudes
Label Unknown - 1989
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Heavy Artillery Compilation (1990)
1. Hatrix - Sins of A Bastard Angel
Auburn Records - 1990
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Hatrix - My Asylum (Demo, 1990)
1. My Asylum
2. Electric Shock/Ode to Ben
3. Donate... Before It's Too Late!
4. Attitudes
5. Dick's Night Out
6. Unnatural R.I.P.
Copyright 1991
Independently released
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Hatrix - collisioncoursewithnoplace (Demo, 1993)
1. It's Not Hard to Hate
2. Bad Religion
3. No One
4. Status
5. Sick of Myself
6. Joyride
Copyright 1993
Independently released
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Hatrix / Revolution (Album, 1993)
(My Asylum and Collisioncoursewithnoplace Demos combined.)
1. It's Not Hard to Hate
2. Bad Religion
3. No One
4. Status
5. Sick of Myself
6. Joyride
7. My Asylum
8. Dick's Night Out
9. Donate
10. Attitudes
11. Electric Shock
12. Unnatural R.I.P.
Copyright 1991 & 1993
Independently released
Re-Released on Mushroomhead Inc. Records (1999)
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Hatrix - collisioncoursewithnoplace (Album, 1994)
1. It's Not Hard to Hate
2. Bad Religion
3. My Asylum
4. Psychoface
5. Deprivation
6. No One
7. Status
8. Soul Shock
9. Sick of Myself
10. Reason to Be
11. Subliminal
12. What Comes Around
13. Joyride
Copyright 1994
Massacre Records
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Hatrix - anotherbadmemory (Demo, Cassette only, 1995)
1. Intimidation
2. Freedom
3. Psychoface
4. Soul Shock
5. Deprivation
6. Subliminal
7. Reason to Be
Copyright 1995
Independently Released
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Industry Compilation (1996)
1. Hatrix – Intimidation
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Mushroomhead Inc. Records Sampler (1998)
1. Hatrix - Freedom
