Hirax is an American thrash metal band from Buena Park, California. Starting in 1982 under the leadership of vocalist Katon W. De Pena (the band's only original member of the current line-up), the band played in Los Angeles and San Francisco with the other new thrash metal bands of the area such as Metallica, Exodus, and Slayer. The band was an early example of the thrash metal, speed metal and crossover thrash genres.