Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / Orto bar / Slovenia
Concert date: February 21, 2017
Attendance: 80
Ticket price: €15.00 (presale) / €18.00 (day of show)
It felt like traveling back a good six years, to when the famous Texan speed/thrash metallers Helstar, the »cult« American take on old-school metal, played Ljubljana in December 2010. That night they shared the bill with Medvode’s Metalsteel.
Both bands repeated the experience of that Gala Hala show from years ago at Ljubljana’s Orto bar on February 21, 2017. After all, there’s a great friendship between the two outfits, and it hardly needs saying that »James Rivera plus Metalsteel equals Sabbath Judas Sabbath«. The legendary vocalist James Rivera (with a tattoo of the Slovenian coat of arms, no joke) found his new home in Slovenia long ago, and at this latest Ljubljana show he again didn’t forget to add: »Slovenia, how are you? You are my family! It’s great to see you again«
But let’s take it from the top. Helstar last played in Slovenia just under three years ago. Back then they were presenting the album »This Wicked Nest« (2014); this time they brought along a brand-new, freshly forged studio album called »Vampiro« (2016), which forms a kind of link to the most notorious album of Helstar’s career. That’s “Nosferatu” (1989), of course. In content, character and the quality of the new songs, it’s without a doubt a more than worthy successor to the cult album of Helstar’s career, and it also proves that Helstar haven’t lost their songwriting power even in their later years.
The gig kicked off right on the dot. Metalsteel got fifty opening minutes to play ten songs. As always, there’s not much to wonder about with Metalsteel: you know what kind of show the brave folks from Medvode are going to deliver. The guys and Daša remain a byword for quality and bright stars on the horizon of Slovenian metal, keeping the old-school revival alive. Metalsteel are superbly tight, and lately they’ve upgraded their backing vocal harmonies too, with Rok and Matej working with Beny in a thoroughly confident and constantly active way, which gives the songs extra shine and expressive punch. At this show the band again built a set list led by tracks from the current album »This Is Your Revelation«, seasoning the rest with older classics (Novi svet, and the expected Heavy Metal Is Our Religion in the closing stretch). The high point of their set came at the end, when Metalsteel called James Rivera onto the stage and together they played the Black Sabbath classic Heaven And Hell, briefly reviving the days of their joint project Sabbath Judas Sabbath. Nothing more to say. Metalsteel are always an attraction when they land a show anywhere near your home, and a big guarantee of a good, cheerful gig atmosphere. Beny remains a commanding vocalist, he and Rok keep up a superb communication between the two guitars, Matej remains a »miracle« bassist, and last but not least, we have to single out Daša, who once again behind the drums turned, with great commitment and care, into the mistress and chief keeper of the band’s time for fifty minutes.
Helstar hit the Orto bar stage at half past nine in the evening. With fourteen songs they took us through their discography, with the expected emphasis on tracks from the new album »Vampiro« and the cult »Nosferatu«. After a short intro, James, who lately loves to goof around on stage, which fits the themes of the new albums, surprised us by turning into a »bloodsucker«, remembering to put in the vampire fangs and throw on a red-and-black cape. His scarlet-dark baroque finery, in any case, once again recalled the outfit one of his greatest idols, the late Ronnie James Dio, wore on stage long ago.
Helstar took the stage that evening with a freshly refreshed lineup. Rob Trevino has been replaced by guitarist Andrew Atwood, while Garrick Smith handles bass. The latter is »holding down« the spot for original bassist Jerry Abbarca, who hasn’t played with the band due to health problems since the end of 2010. Helstar haven’t lost a speck of their performance dynamite. The guitars remain bristling and loaded to the core. Larry Barragan, besides Rivera the only original member left, has found an outstanding partner in Atwood, and the guitar work stays spotless. The dialogue of guitar skills between the two masters was stunning once again. Riffs ripped off at hellish picking-hand speed, often palm-muted, the cannon-like and Swiss-watch-precise drums of the untamed Mikey Lewis, a lively weave of melodic figures on the bass. Basically, we got another superb execution from Helstar.
Despite all that, James wasn’t exactly having his best day that evening. He sounded like he had a cold, or, to put it plainly: James was “off voice” that night. The already mentioned performance of the Black Sabbath classic Heaven And Hell with Metalsteel hinted at it in passing, and the show itself confirmed the bad omens. James skillfully adapted most of the vocal lines with great experience. In the highest registers he often just rasped, adding plenty of throatiness to the (expected) clean vocals. He handled the situation deftly and confidently wriggled out of an unpleasant spot. He also talked to the crowd less than usual during the set, and the crowd only really came alive toward the end, when James fired it up by announcing »Remnants of War«, a classic from Evil Reign, which was followed, as expected, by »Burning Star«, a classic from Run With The Pack, which Helstar have proverbially saved for the closing acts of their shows. The band surprised a bit at the very end by choosing to play the Black Sabath song N.I.B., whose chorus again confirmed James’s weaker vocal form on this night. Too bad Helstar didn’t stick with their own material. They’ve never recorded a bad album, so it would have been nicer to enjoy the last five minutes of the show with another cult Helstar classic from the eighties.
The crowd was made up of the same clientele who, at Helstar’s first show in Slovenia in May 2009 (it was at Kranj’s Bazen, today »programmatically« kitschy and run-down), gave the band an unforgettable reception, when the audience went completely wild during the gig. This time the crowd was very calm for at least three quarters of the show, with a few sporadic moments of overheated heads whirling around their own axis. The same clientele that follows the band has gotten a bit more serious over the last eight years. There was no sense of reserve at all, though, since the concert energy flared up at just the right moments of the set (e.g. during the classic Baptised In Blood). Sadly there weren’t many new faces at this show, which is worrying, since the Slovenian fans have aged ten years in the meantime, and the young Slovenian metal generation is unfortunately nowhere to be seen at such »educational« gigs. Anyway, what counts is that people came! That evening Orto bar once again welcomed Helstar with all those people whose hearts beat for metal. Dressed in proper metal »outfits«, with the proper metal attitude. When you walk into a gig and know you’re in the right place at the right time. At a real metal show in Slovenia!
And Helstar? Absolutely, and there’s no debate about it. Hats off and respect. The countdown to the next meeting with the cult legends of »U.S. old-school speed metal« has therefore already begun.
Setlist
HELSTAR:
1. Awaken into Darkness
2. Blood Lust
3. To Sleep, Per Chance to Scream
4. To Their Death Beds They Fell
5. Harker’s Tale (Mass of Death)
6. Black Cathedral
7. Rhapsody in Black
8. Baptized in Blood
9. Fall of Dominion
10. Pandemonium
11. Tormentor
12. The King Is Dead
13. Evil Reign
14. Run with the Pack
—encore—
15. N.I.B.
METALSTEEL:
1. Taboo
2. Trapped
3. White Circle
4. This Is Your Revelation
5. Novi svet
6. Materialist No More
7. Narcissus
8. New Way of Thinking
9. Heaven And Hell (feat. James Rivera)
10. Heavy Metal Is Our Religion
Photo gallery
