HITTEN – First Strike With The Devil (2023 Revisited Version)

Alongside their very good new album featured yesterday here, rockers HITTEN are reissuing a revised, remastered, remixed version of their debut album, now re-titled “First Strike With The Devil (2023 Revisited Version)“. While HITTEN right now are playing an energetic mix of late ’80s / early ’90s Americanized hard rock, in their origins they had a traditional heavy metal sound.
Back in 2014, the quintet still had a lot to prove and – barring the questionable cover art – did a good job on debut album First Strike With The Devil. Perhaps the influence of groups like Riot, Lizzy Borden and Iron Maiden seem slightly too obvious, though seeing Striker and the Swedish speed/heavy scene becoming bigger on the weight of the same sound may have encouraged Hitten too.
This refreshed version of the album hits like an uppercut straight to the jaw – heavy, crunchy, classic metallic.

Whatever the case regarding their thinking about style & sound, songs like ‘Evil Power’ and ‘Ladykiller’ offer classic heavy metal that slides both into speedy territories and hard rock singalongs, rarely becoming boring as a result of a decent pace and solid performances.
Lead singer Aitor Navarro displays pipes that have a touch of power metal to them, using vibrato to slightly change the usual raunchy feel. The band carries out all of this with a sense of urgency and dedication to the power of both riff and chorus, aiding Navarro with backing vocals and piling into each song with great energy, helped by a powerful combo guitar and bass tone.

On the other hand, the band seem unafraid of mixing things up, bringing out mood-setting acoustic guitars on ‘Demons’ and ‘Nightmares Come True’, as well as playing a long slow instrumental section in ‘Ladykiller’ that smells both of bad intentions and the power of walking through the streets wearing denim and leather.
Therefore, atmosphere is neither absent nor abundant, doing just enough to keep the ‘80s vibe in place without going into specifics.
The consistency of this debut album prove that Hitten were destined to grow into the strong band they are right now.
Highly Recommended

01 – Demons (2023 Revisited Version)
02 – Evil Power (2023 Revisited Version)
03 – Lookin’ For Axxion (2023 Revisited Version)
04 – Ladykiller (2023 Revisited Version)
05 – Running Over Fire (2023 Revisited Version)
06 – Punished By Speed (2023 Revisited Version)
07 – Stand And Fight (2023 Revisited Version)
08 – Nightmares Come True (2023 Revisited Version)

Aitor Navarro – Lead Vocals
Dani – Guitars, Vocals
Dani Argiles – Guitars, Vocals
Mr. C – Bass, Vocals
Rhyno – Drums

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amazon.co.uk/First-Strike-Devil-Revisited-Hitten/dp/B0BW23B13Q