Performers: Eliminator, Metalsteel, Helstar
Location: Ljubljana / Gala hala (Metelkova) / Slovenia
Date: 13. 12. 2010
The “old school speed” metalheads from Texas, Helstar, are firing on all cylinders again! Three years ago, every scrap of news about the band’s regeneration and revival sounded like the wildest dream come true, but the lineup has since cemented its status as a live metal legend back in action. They put out the comeback album “The King Of Hell” (2008), spiced it up with a European tour, and this year confirmed they’re in full working swing with a new album and another European tour.
We have singer James Rivera’s open friendship with the Medvode band Metalsteel to thank, in large part, for Helstar being so happy to come back to Slovenia after last May’s visit to Kranj. Let’s remember the joint creation of the more-than-successful cover band Sabbath Judas Sabbath, where the entire Metalsteel lineup backs Rivera on vocals. With a handful of Sabbath Judas Sabbath shows across Europe, the bonds got stronger, and among the new generation of Slovenian metalheads Helstar have become a practically mandatory part of the inventory filed under the Slovenian metal scene.
And just so things wouldn’t go too smoothly for Helstar, it so happened that before the band’s show in Ljubljana, on the road from Munich to the Slovenian capital, the guys had to leave bassist Jerry Abarca behind in a Munich hospital. It was a matter of life and death. When an appendix bursts, there’s no room for jokes.
Decilence, recently renamed from Eliminator and hailing from Celje, got the chance to open the night and show off their freshly revamped musical identity. The quartet is part of the revival of the old thrash/speed metal school. They’re technically top-notch, and there’s not much to miss in the performance either. Of course, the guys are just starting out, so they still need to rack up the right mileage. Their sound is roughly captured by the two covers they played, of Judas Priest and Forbidden. Aggressive, snarling and angry. The vocals are impetuously charging, yet melodic and fitting in every respect. Convincing, with a feeling that the band knows what it’s doing and what it wants. Let’s hope something big grows out of this band in the future.
Next up on stage were Metalsteel. The guys and the girl have a new album in their pockets. It’s their fourth, and this time they actually presented it to the crowd in full. You can tell the band has been through a stretch of real gigging, in all kinds of places, under all kinds of conditions, in front of all kinds of crowds. The bonds have grown. The lineup is superbly tight. That’s confirmed above all by Beni’s excellent and unbelievably confident singing, the upgraded harmonies in the backing vocals, and the concrete back-and-forth between Beni’s and Rok’s guitars. The new songs again feel angrier and more aggressive. Metalsteel keep the melodic feel they’re after in them, rooted in the traditional values of heavy metal, which they remain true to. For the ballad Topla je smrt, the band’s original singer Alex, known as the frontman of Negligence, stepped onto the stage with his old companions for the first time in ages. The band will officially release the new album right before the New Year, and mark the festive occasion with a launch party in Kranj on 23.12.2010. Metalsteel are going onward and upward. That’s simply a fact.
Helstar are Helstar. Even though Jerry wasn’t on stage, Rivera and the guitar duo of Trevino/Barragan, with the stellar form and experience of old seasoned foxes, kept the crowd so occupied that nobody thought much about the missing bass on stage. The band also introduced their new drummer Mikey Lewis at this show, and his superior technique and skill held the lineup together so well that you could barely catch a single slip during the set. The band laid into the excellent new studio album “Glory To Chaos” (2010) big time, and it sticks diligently to the legacy of the classic Helstar albums. The guys hit straight away with the new song Angels Fall To Hell, which flows into (another new one) Pandemonium. Rivera is in top form. The transfer of power from the mid-range to the highest highs worked flawlessly. Vocal articulation without a flaw. Full throttle! The man has incredible charisma, and from his gestures you can tell James learned plenty of useful things from his excellency, the late Ronnie James Dio. And what’s his sound like? Imagine Dio wanting to sound like Rob Halford. Or the other way round, Halford like Dio. That would get you something close to James Rivera’s vocal interpretation. After Wicked Disposition, the man eased off the gas a bit, took a breather, explained to the crowd why there were only four Helsar musketeers on stage today, admitted that Slovenia has become his second home in a short time, and then announced a cover of Animal Magnetism by Scorpions, from the album of the same name by that revered German hard rock band. As it should be. Completely “Helstar-ized”. From head to toe. Anyone who didn’t know the song definitely got the impression it was a fresh original from the band, it wears its “Helstar” outfit so well and so authentically. The riffing of Trevino and Barragan gives this cover a real touch of that innate delicacy that puts Helstar in a special spot on the thrash/speed metal planet. The song is also included on the new album “Glory To Chaos”. But you can only get it on the CD, and only on the version for the European market. As a bonus track. Rivera floored everyone once again with his vocal performance in the new Bone Crusher, which sounded especially imposing and destructive live. Of the new songs, the guys also unleashed Alma Negra and Monarch The Bloodshed.
Besides that, the set also featured The King Of Hell, Rhapsody In Black, Baptised In Blood, Evil Reign, The King Is Dead, The Plague Called Man, Digital Nightmares and, in the finale of course, Run With The Pack. For that song, Metalsteel bassist Matej Sušnik also stepped on stage. The band picked him to help bring the rest of the European leg of the Helstar tour home. Four shows were still left, and Jerry of course has to rest after the operation. Matej is known as a wonder bassist, since at just twenty-three he’s already knocking on the door of the top bass players, with a truly shining career possibly ahead of him. Of course, it all depends on courage and on not letting the praise “go to your head too much.” This is surely a great honor not just for the bassist, but also a big vindication for Slovenian heavy metal, which got recognition for having exceptional musicians and exceptional bands that have kept pace with the times, in terms of development and reach of world metal in 2010.
Helstar played another phenomenal show. Attendance was modest, though. Some eighty people. I get it, wallets are pretty empty these days. Still, the small crowd went wild. With his performance and charisma, Rivera pulled the audience in as light as a feather and had them wrapped around his finger. Larry Barragan and Rob Trevino wowed with their masterful command of the guitars, their precision, outstanding picking and, overall, an incredible stage chemistry. Mikey Lewis more than justified his role as the new Helstar drummer.
Simple as that. Helstar remain a powerhouse on stage, one of a kind. Jerry’s absence showed, “peeking through” especially in the mid-tempo stretches of the songs, but still. “Glory To Chaos” got a fantastic introduction in Ljubljana, and everyone who cares about quality and original songwriting grabbed their copy of the new Helstar CD after the show. A magical heavy metal lesson from under the blazing Texas sun, forged in the spirit of the most authentic origins! Serve it white-hot!
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
