HELSTAR
XXX: 30 Years Of Hell
AFM (2012)
Rating: 7.5/10
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Underground purveyors of metal, Helstar, are back again. This time around they bring their onslaught to the masses via a double live disc and DVD combo that celebrates 30 years of making metal (albeit on and off).
Considering that the Houston, Texas-based band recorded albums during the thrash era for both Combat and Metal Blade Records, they always seemed to be lost in the shuffle. While the name is recognisable to many, most would likely be hard pressed to sing one of Helstar’s tunes. We learn on XXX that that’s a pretty big shame.
Recorded in Texas in front of an excited looking audience of diehard fans, XXX is an extremely energetic live album with top notch sound and video quality. The band rip right into the set with ‘Angels Fall To Hell’ and ‘Towards The Unknown’. The fans love every moment of it and frontman James Rivera and bassist Jerry Abarca (the two most consistent members) eat it up. Especially when watching the DVD, you get a real sense that these guys probably love and respect getting to do this now more than they ever have.
Most of the audio highlights come late on disc two in my opinion. The foursome of songs that ends the show are just incredible. ‘Baptized In Blood’ rips and then ‘Alma Negra’ takes it to a whole other level with some fairly intricate sounding guitar work and near perfect timing. It’s more extreme than some of the other material and just destroys! ‘The King Of Hell’ takes a more epic sounding approach but the vocal work is really interesting, bouncing back and forth between lows and highs in a way that reminds me of Iced Earth or Iron Maiden a bit. ‘Run With The Pack’ takes the show out on a high note, coming off like a metal jam.
The DVD extras are fairly standard, including the usual behind the scenes stuff, interviews, and footage from London during the 2011 Summer Of Hate tour. It’s all fine, but if you are new to the band it certainly won’t mean as much as it would to a diehard, longtime fan.
The quality here is excellent. As someone who’s not familiar with the band’s back catalogue, I’d say this is a solid song selection. The set has a very cohesive feel about it, although there’s just enough variation to tell it’s from different eras of the band. I enjoyed the DVD a bit more because the band have an energetic live presence and the crowd is really into it. All in all, this is a nice treat for longtime fans and a solid introduction for new fans.
Mark Fisher
