Release:
High Roller Records
24.11.2023
Info:
HITTEN formed in 2011 in the city of Murcia in the South-East of Spain (near Alicante). The same year the band unleashed their first demo entitled »Darkness Queen« onto the world. Two EPs followed, before the band’s debut full-length album »First Strike With The Devil« was released in 2014. Soon after, Hitten signed to High Roller Records and issued three more albums: »State Of Shock« (2016), »Twist Of Fate« (2018) and the highly acclaimed »Triumph And Tragedy« in 2021. Earlier this year, Hitten unleashed a re-recorded version of their debut album »First Strike With The Devil«. This is now followed by the band’s fifth studio album entitled »While Passion Lasts« (with the latest addition of Willy Medina on drums).
“»While Passion Lasts« is the rightful successor to »Triumph And Tragedy«”, founding member and guitarist Dani Meseguer explains. “The formula is still the same, a mix of old school heavy metal and hard rock. This time hinting even more at that late 80s/early 90s hard rock sound, but still largely infused with that old school metal approach which is the foundation of HITTEN’s own sound. The production has surely improved. As much as we loved the sound of »Triumph And Tragedy«, with »While Passion Lasts« our search for the perfect sound has been maniacal. We retrieved some equipment from back in the days to try nailing that late 80s/early 90s sound we had on our mind and wanted to recreate.”
According to Dani, there was no real masterplan for »While Passion Lasts«: “No. We didn’t sit around a table and decided how the album should sound like. I don’t believe that sort of things works. I think music and inspiration comes spontaneously … you can't draw lines and put stakes, or at least you shouldn’t, in my humble opinion … I see that as an artistic limitation. So we just started writing down and working on stuff until we were satisfied with the results.”
»While Passion Lasts« is possibly the most melodic album HITTEN have recorded so far. The title track is really catchy, sounding a bit like classic Dokken, Rough Cutt, late Queensryche and »1987« era Whitesnake, very accessible. “Thank you, you just named bands that are our heroes and clearly references for us, so that means we nailed it somehow,” finds Dani Meseguer. “We wanted to write a hymn, a song with big chords and a huge chorus to be sung along and that can get stuck in peoples’ heads, like the masters you named surely knew how to do. We’re absolutely proud of the outcome and we think it’s a great opener.”
“Memorable big choruses and refrains are key parts of our songwriting,” continues the guitarist. “When we approach a song, we always try to make it sound like a ‘single’, of course some songs are more suitable and straight forward than others, but catchy is the keyword. I guess the title track, or ‘Mr. Know It All’, or in its own way ‘CrimeTime’, are all suitable for the ‘single test’ being the most straight forward.”
"Mr. Know It All" - Official Video Clip: https://youtu.be/LeOdlYlMnc0
Tracklist:
01. Prelude To Passion
02. While Passion Lasts
03. Blood From A Stone
04. Mr. Know It All
05. Unholy Games
06. Dark Stalker
07. Truthful Lies
08. Hold Up The Night
09. Where It All Begins
10. Crimetime
Line-up:
Alexx Panza - Vocals
Dani Meseguer - Guitars
Willy Medina - Drums
Satan - Bass
Johnny Lorca - Guitars
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