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| HITTEN - Twist of Fate LP | |
HRR 645, ltd 500, 200 x black + 300 x transparent aqua blue vinyl, gatefold cover, insert, 2nd pressing: ltd 500, 150 x black + 350 black/ blue galaxy vinyl | |
| Alexx Panza - Vocals Dani Meseguer - Guitars Johnny Lorca - Guitar Satan - Bass John Synhx - Drums | |
| 01 Take it All 02 Final Warning 03 Twist of Fate 04 Flight to Freedom 05 Svccvbvs 06 Evil Within 07 On the Run 08 In the Heat of the Night 09 Rocking Out the City 10 Heroes | |
| 1st pressing: SOLD OUT! 2nd pressing: AVAILABLE | |
Hitten formed in 2011 in the city of Murcia in the South-East of Spain (near Alicante). The same year the band issued their first demo entitled »Darkness Queen«. Two EPs and one full album entitled »First Strike With The Devil« (2014) followed, before Hitten signed to High Roller Records for their second full-length record »State Of Shock«. With captivating heavy metal songs such as “Don’t Be Late”, “Endless Race” and “Eternal Force” »State Of Shock« was a clear improvement on the band’s rather naïve debut effort, altogether a more rounded effort. Founding member and guitarist Dani Meseguer cites Accept, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon as Hitten’s musical inspiration, as well as US Metal bands such as Fifth Angel, Crimson Glory, Shok Paris and Metal Church.
“Me and the boys are pretty satisfied with how »State Of Shock« was received,” explains Dani Meseguer. “The album reached a lot of shops, labels, magazines, and webzines all over the world. It also took us on a really good tour around Europe, we played cool festivals and appeared in Japan for the very first time. We are really happy with how High Roller Records works overall.”
However, the period between »State Of Shock« and the brand new album »Twist Of Fate« saw some changes in the Hitten camp: “In September 2017, our singer Aitor played his last show with Hitten and then left the band. As we all know, it’s very hard for a band to find a new vocalist. Well, not for Hitten though. Alexx is a gift from heaven, really, he was there for us at the perfect time. We were really impressed of how he sang the songs, so we just asked him to join the band and he accepted.”
“We are more than happy with the final result of »Twist Of Fate«,” continues Dani Meseguer. “From the cover art to the music, it’s all high quality stuff. We truly believe that people who enjoyed »State Of Shock« are going to enjoy »Twist Of Fate« even more. The mix (by Javi Félez) and the mastering (Patrick W. Engel) is simply incredible. The album is full of crazy twin guitar passages, very emotional solos, high-pitched screams, vocal harmonies and powerful backing vocals … all the necessary ingredients for a great metal album! Alexx did a hell of a job with the vocals, he really is amazing. He has a very broad vocal range. He can perfectly sing in a low range but also go for those insane high-pitched screams that we all love.”
When listening to »Twist Of Fate« American Metal bands such as Armored Saint, Queensryche and Q5 spring to mind. “Yes, it’s true, the band sounds more similar to American Metal right now,” agrees the guitarist. “We all love the bands you have just mentioned but to be honest, we got this sound naturally, it is something that has not been intentional. I mean, there has definitely been a natural growth for us as musicians. If we analyse the band’s albums, we can see how the first record maybe represents a more British sound, »State Of Shock« is a mix of both worlds, and the last album sounds way more American, probably for the strong presence of the guitars, powerful drums and the high vocals. But there are still some remnants of our ‘British period’ left, I would say.”
»Twist Of Fate« is a very professional sounding record as well. Maybe one of the most professional sounding metal albums from Spain ever … “Thank you so much for your kind words,” beams Dani Meseguer. “As I said before, I think we are now working with the right people and the band is starting to sound how we envisaged it in the first place. Of course, I must also recognize the excellent work of my band mates because we are altogether responsible for this professional sounding record we have made (and hopefully many more will come in the future).”
For Dani Meseguer “Take It All” is his favourite song off »Twist Of Fate«: “I really like how we start the album with ‘ Take It All’ . Anyway, I might as well have chosen ‘Flight To Freedom’ because I wrote it in a delicate moment in my life, so let’s say I have a bit of an affection for this one from a personal perspective. Anyway, it depends, my favourite song on the record is changing every time I listen to the album!”
Matthias Mader