Hectic's Turntable Top 6 [April 2025]

Welcome to Hectic’s Turntable Top 6, where I review recent releases that have been getting more than their fair share of plays on the turntables at home and in the office.

For this first installment, I’m going to talk about 3 releases by Bay Area metal bands I’ve been listening to nonstop, as well as 3 recent releases from bands from elsewhere. All releases from the first quarter (3 months) of 2025.

--Hectic

Ancient Rage

Self-Titled

Dismantled Records

Ancient Rage is “Intoxicating Rock N’ Roll Street Metal” from Oakland, CA. Also referred to as Motorpunk, which was a new subgenre to me. But I love me some punk rock, especially if it is fast and has metal influences. I’d seen Ancient Rage in 2023 at the Kilowatt, plus having been a fan of the cheap whiskey that inspired their name back in my youth, the name stuck in my head. One spin of this record really sealed the deal for me though, it's fast, it’s heavy, echoes of a more punk rock Motorhead. I’m sold.

Plus the production is top notch – recorded, mixed and mastered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios – it's fast and heavy but clean, none of the messiness of some punk recordings. Technically this album came out in December 2024, but I’ve listened to it so much since getting it in February it has earned a spot in the Turntable Top 6. 

NITE

Cult of the Serpent Sun

Season of Mist Records

I’ve been a fan of NITE’s Blackened Heavy Metal sound since seeing this San Francisco band opening a show at Thee Parkside back in 2019. Their first 2 records, 2020's Darkness Silence Mirror Flame and 2022’s Voices of the Kronian Moon get regular spins on my turntable. Their 3rd and new record Cult of the Serpent Sun takes the band’s classic metal sound to a new level of polish. There are some riffs and melodies which stick in your head for sure.

Singer / guitarist Van Labrakis’ unique style of blackened vocals delivered in a mesmerizing but somewhat low key style isn’t for everyone, but it really works for me with the music. NITE has their own sound, and in today’s metal scene with a lot of music sounding like remixed tribute bands / worship of classic metal, having a unique identity counts for a lot in my book.

Hellhunter

Hellbanger

Hectic Records / Bleeding Priest Records

Ok, this one is cheating, since it came out on my label Hectic Records, and my collaborator here at SanFran666co.com Bleeding Priest is the drummer. But fuck it, I love this record, and spent many hours listening to it in the process of getting the vinyl made. Plus many hours staring into its soul doing the layout, graphics and many of the band photos. The cover art by @gloomyanxiety was fun to work with too, a very old school cover reminiscent of 1980s Celtic Frost or other extreme bands of the time.

Hellhunter is Blackened thrash metal from San Francisco, and this 5 song EP perfectly captures the dirty sounding, aggressive thrash the band was going for. Hellhunter’s blackened vocals are quite different from NITE’s blackened vocals, with the aggro screaming of frontman Gordon Liucifer meant to disrupt your day, not chill you out, but it still rocks hard nonetheless. Get out your spiked bracelets and bang your head as you hunt for hell with Hellhunter.

And here are 3 non-San Francisco Bay Area bands to complete the Top 6:

Hirax

Faster than Death

Armageddon Label

This album lives up to its name and is proud of it, listing the total running time of 20 minutes 28 seconds inside the gatefold. I haven’t seen that in too many liner notes of a record. But these 8 tracks plus the aptly named “Drill into the Brain” sound effects intro fly by – two of them are a minute and a half long, and the longest is under 4 minutes. Super high energy, fast thrash metal. 

Interestingly this record is produced, mixed and mastered by the famous Max Norman (Ozzy Osbourne’s first 4 albums, Megadeth’s 90s albums). Faster than Death celebrates the 40th anniversary of the band, who hail from Long Beach, CA. I’m a big fan of the vocals of frontman Katon, who has gathered a new line-up of musicians for this record. Whether you are a Hirax fan or new to the band, if you like fast, heavy thrash, don’t snooze on this one. And make sure you pay attention when giving it a spin, it will be over before you know it.

Sanhedrin

Heat Lightning

Metal Blade Records

Slowing things down a bit now, with more of a classic metal / hard rock album (“trad metal” apparently in 2025). Sanhedrin is a 3 piece from Brooklyn, NY with a classic heavy sound, and Heat Lightning is their second release on Metal Blade. I’ve been a fan of bass player / vocalist Erica Stoltz’s powerful, soulful vocals since she fronted one of my favorite San Francisco bands of the late 1990s / early 2000s, Lost Goat. She hasn’t lost a step, and delivers another powerful performance on this record. 

The vocal hooks and melodies are catchy, the music heavy and powerful. A little bit of the Brooklyn toughness, with a fresh take on rock and metal. I’ve listened to this album quite a bit since it came out, and think I might even like it better than the previous record Lights On, which I think is great too. If you are a fan of hard rock and more classic metal sounds, especially female fronted bands, don’t miss Sanhedrin.

Hazzerd

The 3rd Dimension

M-Theory Records

Hazzerd is a thrash metal band from Calgary, Alberta Canada, and one of the more interesting new thrash acts to come out in the past decade. They have the aggressive vocals and solid approach of a young thrash band, but there are echoes of Megadeth in the guitars and songwriting to me. This record has a bit more complexity than some thrash records, from the dueling guitars to the delivery of the vocalist/drummer.

I believe this is the second release on M-Theory Records, and Hazzerd has apparently been one of that label’s best selling bands. It isn’t hard to understand, when you give this record a spin. For fans of thrash metal, you should certainly be familiar with Hazzerd.