Rather Death Than False Of Faith (Metalother Records 1988) is the debut album from UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 group Hydra Vein.

Overview

Released to universally positive critical reviews in the metal press, Rather Death Than False Of Faith saw Hydra Vein hailed as the UK's answer to Slayer

Slayer

Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...

. The UK thrash scene at the time (and subsequently) had been lagging behind the US and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 both in quality of output and exposure in the media and Rather Death ... was widely considered to be a decent riposte on behalf of the underdog. The album's highlights are undoubtedly the breathless title track, the stop-start "Right To Die" and the high octane "Crucifier".

Track listing

• All songs written by Damon Maddison, unless stated

1. "Rabid" – 4:28
2. "Crucifier" – 4:45
3. "The House" – 3:33
4. "Right To Die" (Maddison, Danny Ranger) – 7:07
5. "Rather Death Than False Of Faith" – 4:39
6. "Misanthropic" – 3:12
7. "Harlequin" – 7:10
8. "Guillotine" – 3:25
   • Tracks 2 and 5 also appear on CMFT’s UK Thrash Assault compilation (1989)

Credits

• Mike Keen – vocals
• Danny Ranger – guitars
• Stephen Davis – guitars
• Damon Maddison – bass
• Nathan Maddison – drums

• Recorded and mixed February 27 – March 8, 1988 at Blue Box Studios, Hove
  Hove
  Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
  
  , England
  England
  England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
  
  
• Produced and engineered by Mark Waterman and Charlie McLean