Hitten State of Shock - Revisited

High Roller Records, ltd. 200, bonus CD, Hitten formed in 2011 in the city of Murcia in the South-East of Spain (near Alicante). That 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 four more albums, which were very well-received by the international press (especially in Germany): »State Of Shock« (2016), »Twist Of Fate« (2018), »Triumph And Tragedy« (2011) and »While Passion Lasts« (2023). In addition to that, in early 2023 Hitten completed the unusual task of re-recording their first studio album »First Strike With The Devil« in it's entirety. What at first felt like an odd move proved to be a big success, as guitarist extraordinaire Dani explains: "The fans seemed to really enjoy it, and the new version sold reasonably well. The boys and I are thrilled that people enjoyed it! Honestly, we did it primarily for ourselves. As musicians, we felt a deep need to revisit these first two records with a mix that brought them closer to the sound we had envisioned back then." What Dani has just said is the explanation for the band to have given their second album, 2016's »State Of Shock«, the same treatment as the debut: "As I mentioned earlier, we always felt there was a need for a new mix ever since these albums were originally released. Back then, we were younger, and our lack of experience - combined with budget constraints - pushed us to rush things in the studio. That being said, we were, and still are, happy with how those records turned out. They captured that raw, young, and hungry spirit. But now, with the backing of a great label and a proper budget, it made sense to finally take that thorn out of our side and re-release them with a mix that matches the sound we originally had in mind." On »State Of Shock Revisited« the drums were re-recorded by the band's current drummer, Willy Medina, at Mole Mother Studios. After that, Javi Felez took care of the new mix and mastering at Moontower Studios. "Some people might wonder if we always feel this way after every album," smirks the guitarist, "or if we're planning to re-mix all of our records. The answer is: yes and no. Musicians are rarely 100% satisfied after finishing an album - there's always room for improvement. But usually, you accept the album as done and move forward. In the case of these two records, we accepted them as 'done' but not as 'complete'. As for »Twist Of Fate«, »Triumph And Tragedy« and »While Passion Lasts«, those albums were finished with a sense of closure. We wouldn't consider re-mixing them." MATTHIAS MADER