Helstar
Helstar | |
---|---|
General information | |
origin | Houston , Texas , United States |
Genre (s) | Heavy metal , power metal |
founding | 1981 or 1982 as Black Rose, renamed Helstar in 1982, Vigilante between 1991 and 1995 |
Website | www.helstar.com |
Founding members | |
Larry Barragan | |
Paul Medina | |
Hector Pavon | |
John Diaz | |
Current occupation | |
singing |
James Rivera |
guitar |
Larry Barragan |
guitar |
Robert "Rob" Trevino |
bass |
Gerald "Jerry" Abarca |
Drums |
Michael "Mikey" Lewis |
former members | |
guitar |
Tom Rogers (1983–1985) |
Drums |
René Luna (1985-1987) |
guitar |
André Corbin (1987–1990) |
Drums |
Frank Ferreira (1987–1990) |
guitar |
Aaron Garza (1990 - unknown) |
Drums |
Russel DeLeon (1990 – unknown, 2006–2010) |
bass |
Mike Martin (1990-1994) |
guitar |
D. Michael Heald (1995 - unknown) |
guitar |
Eric Halpern (2003 - unknown) |
bass |
Mike LePond (2003 – unknown, 2012–2013 as Abarca representative) |
Live and session members | |
bass |
Gerrick Smith (since 2014 as Abarca representative on America tours) |
bass |
Matej Sušnick (jumped in for the rest of the tour in 2010, since 2014 as Abarca representative on European tours and in the studio) |
Helstar is an American heavy metal or power metal band that was founded in Houston , Texas in 1982 and only appears sporadically today.
history
Beginnings
Larry Barragan wanted to be a drummer as a teenager . His older brother talked him out of it because he saw Larry as more of a focus than a background man. He played him records from bands in which the electric guitars dominated, such as Deep Purple , Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath . Got a taste for it, he followed the guitar rock scene. In addition to other English groups, namely the newer New Wave of British Heavy Metal , he was also inspired by the Canadian band Rush . As a result, he gained experience in cover bands . He spent three years improving his guitar playing technique. The last of his bands, Black Rose, slowly transformed into Helstar, because in the fall of 1982 in their hometown of Houston , Texas , said Larry Barragan and drummer Hector Pavon decided to step out of the cover band existence. Their bass player Paul Medina also accepted. At that time John Diaz acted as singer, from whom the adopted name idea comes from. Since the symmetry axis of a possible logo should run through the "S", Barragan shortened the suggestion only by the second "l".
Initially, the identity-seeking and advancement group continued to play mainly cover versions. In the absence of performance opportunities, sometimes at backyard parties. It was only with the addition of James Rivera (vocals) and Tom Rogers (guitar) that a line-up emerged that was able to develop its own sound compositional framework and was able to free itself from the curse of neglect. In February 1983 there was finally a demo with six tracks. The encounter with a writer for the English magazine Metal Forces brought Helstar forward, because he took the tape with him to England and discussed it in the Metal Forces . In response to this positive review , many orders came in, and it was thanks to this spread that it was voted “Demo of the Year” and, as a final effect, became a high-quality barter item within the underground scene. This development made the newly founded label Combat Records sit up and take notice and submit a contract to the band. Together with The Rods and Talas , Helstar Combats formed the initial inventory. The six demo tracks plus two new ones resulted in the first album Burning Star , which was released in 1984. Frontman James Rivera sings on it under the name Bill Lionel. The rumor has found its way into various biographies that he was threatened with a paternity lawsuit, which is why he wanted to make himself virtually invisible. The entire album was recorded in two days and mixed in another two days . It was produced, you could say in-house, by The Rods drummer Carl Canedy.
Changes
At the end of 1984 internal disputes began which lasted until the beginning of 1985 and the music press informed its readership about the effects of this. The trigger should have been Oscar Pavon, brother of the drummer Hector Pavon, who gave the manager, but got nothing to do with it. Barragan left the band. He tried to build a new one under the name Betrayer, which he didn't succeed in quickly. He could only write songs that would later be used for the next Helstar album. James Rivera solved the management problem through a change, but as a consequence he lost the members Pavon, Medina and Rogers, who were closely related to the ex-manager. Rivera then asked the hapless Barragan to return. Barragan and Rivera looked for and found new musicians in Robert Trevino (guitar), Gerald "Jerry" Abarca (bass) and René Luna (drums). In a summer month of 1985, the album Remnants of War was created in the Mad Dogs Studios in Hollywood , which was released in 1986. Helstar presented itself live in the opening act for Anthrax , Megadeth and King Diamond .
In 1987 the band moved from Texas to California to the neighborhood of the Metal Blade headquarters, their new label. They had been dissatisfied with Combat and expected better coordination and control from the proximity. The direct label transfer had resulted from the fact that their manager Mike Faley had been appointed vice president of Metal Bade . He was able to convince his boss Brian Slagel of the quality of the band he supervised. There was a contract for two albums. Not everyone went along with the relocation of their living environment, so the drummer and a guitarist were replaced. Now Frank Ferreira (drums) and André Corbin (guitar) played in the band. A Distant Thunder is the name of the album that was released in November 1988. On it is the Scorpions - cover He's a Woman, She's a Man , which should become an integral part of the live shows. It was produced by Bill Metoyer ( Lääz Rockit , Sacred Reich , Slayer ), who didn't talk into anything and also respected the intended angularity. Then they went on a European tour with Yngwie Malmsteen . In the first half of December 1988 the band played in Germany in a package with Tankard , Vendetta and Dimple Minds . Stylistically, Helstar only rudimentarily fitted into it and was almost ignored. Afterwards it went to the Benelux countries , where things went better and they were also given the headlining honor.
crisis
The musicians left the expensive streets of Los Angeles in 1989 and returned to Houston. In the autumn of the same year, Nosferatu was recorded in around 25 days , which was the first album on which the line-up had not changed from its predecessor. What could have been a good sign was actually an emergency community of two guitarists who didn't - or no longer - harmonize with one another. In addition, the cooperation between Metal Blade and the European label Roadrunner came to an end . Furthermore, the sales figures were below the expected level. This was partly due to the grunge wave. The expiring record contract was promptly not renewed. The main location of the filmic Nosferatu story is Germany. That is why Helstar wanted to give an instrumental piece a German title, but it failed completely: Von am Lebemso Strum should mean “From above the Storm”. In a way, the salad of letters reflects the confused band situation of those days.
In 1990 they were forced to peddle a demo recording, but no label showed any interest. The line-up was still the same: Rivera, Barragan, Corbin, Abarca, Ferreira. But immediately afterwards two colleagues left the band, for whom guitarist Aaron Garza and drummer Russel De Leon stepped in. This was followed by a serious loss: Barragan withdrew resignedly from the music business and into private family life with various sources of income, from the gas station attendant job to the lucrative permanent position in the IT area for the management consulting firm KPMG . Many years later, a paper recycling factory would be added to his list of jobs. He made music in a Tex-Mex bar band, it is reported that he himself admitted that he had not touched his instrument for six or seven years. However, Rivera and the recently boarded Garza and De Leon did not want to throw away after Barragan's departure, but reactivated their old guitarist Robert Trevino. They signed Mike Martin as their new bass player. In 1991 a six-track demo was created under the name Vigilante. It was also without penetration. In 1993, another demo was created, which contains four tracks, this time without Trevino, who has dropped out again, so in quartet size. In a great hurry, the band drew 100 copies of them because they managed to get hold of two performance opportunities and the direct sale of cassettes promised an additional source of income. The plan to have the four pieces regularly pressed on CD was dropped the moment Dave Ellefson, bassist for Megadeth, offered himself to them as a mentor and a die-hard fan as a donor. It was recalculated, rescheduled, added a song, visited the recording studio again and - again not realized. Bassist Jerry Abarca suddenly announced his return. Ellefson had been wondering why Rivera wouldn't trade as Helstar, and when Abarca returned, he sort of had no reason to refuse. Massacre Records offered a contract. For marketing reasons, the company agreed to the name change and in 1995 released the band's fifth album, Multiples of Black , again as Helstar. It is not entirely consistent, however, because the Ellefson recordings used, which cost $ 30,000, stand out from the added ones, for which only $ 3,000 were available, and the cover drawing went wrong. Musically speaking, Rivera admitted further shortcomings in retrospect; it was "weak-chested", he summed up in an interview. The work was not well received by the Metal Hammer editorial team and was second to last in the May list of new releases. The comeback attempt failed almost inevitably .
Bridging
The line-up at that time was: James Rivera (vocals), Aaron Garza (guitar), D. Michael Heald (guitar), Gerald “Jerry” Abarca (bass), Russel De Leon (drums). James Rivera was in the New Eden line-up for a short time in 1998 while also being a member of the Chaotic Order, always with the idea of finding followers for a new Helstar attempt in the back of his mind. His next stop was Destiny's End. In May 2000, T'was the Night of a Helish X-Mas , a Helstar live album, was released in December 1989, and the following year The James Rivera Legacy with the demo titles intended for the Nosferatu successor and the Vigilante demo -Titles. Then James Rivera played with some guest musicians in 2001 at the Bang Your Head Festival . A festival tour in the USA followed. Also in August 2001, Rivera's entry into Flotsam and Jetsam seemed to be perfect, but their singer thought back and stayed in the band. For that, Rivera got involved with Seven Witches . Eventually he formed a new group called Distant Thunder, and since they referred to an early Helstar album anyway, he soon passed them off as Helstar. At the time of the name change, in addition to Rivera, it also included Eric Halpern (guitar), Mike LePond (bass) from Symphony X and Michael Lewis (drums). Meanwhile, three former Helstar members came together to form Eternal Black: guitarists Larry Barragan and Rob Trevino and drummer Russell DeLeon. In 2004 Rivera headlined the Keep-It-True -Festival in Lauda-Königshofen under the name Helstar , with subsequent appearances in Greece , Italy , Denmark and the Netherlands .
Reunion
Before, in May 2006, eleven years after the breakup of the last regular members, James Rivera, Larry Barragan, Jerry Abarca, Robert Trevino and Russel De Leon, returned to the scene together under the Helstar banner, Rivera agreed to Vicious Rumors in September 2005 . However, he had to go because of a physical attack, but was able to concentrate fully on Helstar. A friend of Barragan's had asked for a reunion for his metal show in San Antonio and all of the regular members agreed. Sins of the Past , a newly recorded best of , was released in 2007. It already contains two new songs with Tormentor and Caress of the Dead . With this album, the musicians wanted to find out whether there was a constant band spirit. On April 4, 2008, there was another appearance at the German Keep-It-True Festival, this time full of vigor and joy in playing and in remembrance of Remnants of War , which was played completely. According to Barragan, it was his best live experience. At the end of September 2008, the long-awaited studio album full of new compositions (if you can pass the two pre-released songs on Sins of the Past as "new") called The King of Hell was released . In December of the same year they played on the "Death to Xmas European Tour" alongside Flotsam and Jetsam, Samael , Dismember , Hatchet , Onslaught , Heathen and Monstrosity . Helstar set out for the “Hell over Europe Tour” in May 2009. On November 5, 2010, like the previous albums on AFM Records , Glory of Chaos was released, using the unreleased Eternal Black material, which is harder for Helstar standards, and in 2012 the double live CD 30 Years of Hel .
On the “European Chaos Tour” Jerry Abarca was doing very badly in December 2010, so he traveled back home for a medical examination while the band with the Slovenian substitute bassist Matej Sušnik ended the tour. He was diagnosed with severe peritonitis with a persistently serious course, because of which he could no longer work for Helstar. Mike LePond has once again been borrowed from Symphony X for the festival performances and indoor concerts. In 2014 the question of representation was raised again. Financial considerations led to a double solution: Matej Sušnik was hired for the appointments in Europe, while the American Gerrick Smith is responsible for his home continent. Jerry Abarca's status remains that of a band member; all hope for his recovery. Barrigan raised him to a "family member" to deny him the band membership, he considered disrespectful. This Wicked Nest was released again on AFM Records on April 25, 2014 . Matej Sušnik then plays the bass.
Music genre
The most popular style is Power Metal. The metalstorm.net website uses the terms Power Metal, Speed Metal and Thrash Metal. Rockdetector.com has chosen heavy metal and power metal .
The debut album is mainly assigned to Power Metal due to its fast pieces with calm passages and screaming vocals at times. The assignment to "American 1980s Goth Metal", as Martin Popoff makes in The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties , is an exception. Judas Priest , Iron Maiden , Mercyful Fate , Manowar , and Virgin Steele are in different Publications used as comparative volume.
Also Remnants of War receives virtually unchallenged the label "Power Metal". Ingo Schwichtenberg from Helloween tipped Manowar for the colleague rating section of a Metal-Hammer special when it was played.
Progressive elements emerge on Nosferatu , brought about by adapting classical works. According to Popoff's analysis, Nosferatu is a cross between various metallic US regional forms and technical precision metal from the brands Coroner , Rage and Helloween with a dash of Metallica to reveal at least a traditional note. He described the result as "snobby speed metal".
Metal hammer author Tore Wijnfurth characterized the controversial album Multiples of Black as “true metal, but not at it's best”.
The King of Hell has numerous NWoBHM moments and is therefore traditional Power / Heavy Metal, says Popoff (Volume 4).
Thrash elements found their way into Glory of Chaos . Remember the music in places either Forbidden , Death Angel , Heathen , Nevermore or Exodus , Michael Edele writes on laut.de . Marc Halupczok only mentions Nevermore in Metal Hammer in this context . Mario Karl von Musik itself only felt reminded of Forbidden. It was an “almost pure Thrash Metal album” he wrote on the website.
This Wicked Nest is characterized by a clear share of Thrash in the Power Metal concept . This was not well received by Frank Thießies from Metal Hammer . In his opinion, the material is musically uninspired and technically ridiculous. In the music-in-itself interview , Barragan said : "We found a way to put James' voice over the really heavy parts."
Text themes
Initially, the textual focus was on invented worlds instead of our real ones. “The lyrics should entertain the people. For example, we write about elf queens, i.e. about fantasy . We also question things, but without becoming socially critical. When you turn on the television, you see people all the time who are somehow critical. [...] it is not our job to put something like that into the 40 minutes of our record. ”Over time, one came to an“ adult ”, that is to say, an opposite point of view. First of all, A Distant Thunder approached sensitive topics in addition to remaining in the web of kings and dragons by writing a critical song about Adolf Hitler .
In The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 3: The Nineties, Martin Popoff describes the textual content of Multiples of Black briefly as a confrontation with the impending end of the world . The album title Glory of Chaos is meant sarcastically , Rivera explained in an interview. We would live in a chaos of polluted environments, never-ending wars and bigoted religions that we don't do anything about because we seem to think that's great. "[We have] written about the darkness, the sadness and the wickedness of the world we live in," he concluded. The lyrics for This Wicked Nest were shared by Rivera and Barragan, with the guitarist writing more lyrics than the singer. Political issues are in the foreground, especially the aspect of corruption , the engine of world affairs, as he sees it.
Trevino once summed up the textual direction of his band with the words, Helstar wrote about wars and the end of the world, always with different accents. To the listener it must inevitably sound as if they were “a bunch of old pissed off men” (literally: “a bunch of old pissed-off men”).
Discography
- 1983: 1983 demo (demo, in-house production)
- 1983: Live Demo (demo, in-house production)
- 1984: Burning Star (Album, Combat Records)
- 1986: Remnants of War (Album, Combat Records)
- 1988: A Distant Thunder (Album, Metal Blade)
- 1989: Nosferatu (album, Metal Blade)
- 1990: Demotape '90 (Demolition) (demo, in-house production)
- 1991: Demo (Vigilante) (Demo, in-house production)
- 1993: 1993 demo (demo, in-house production)
- 1995: Multiples of Black (Album, Massacre Records)
- 2000: T'was the Night of a Helish X-Mas (Live-Album, Metal Blade)
- 2001: The James Rivera Legacy (previously unofficial demo material, Iron Glory Records)
- 2007: Burning Alive (DVD, Perris Records)
- 2007: Sins of the Past (newly recorded band classics plus two new pieces, AFM Records)
- 2008: The King of Hell (Album, AFM Records)
- 2010: Rising from the Grave (2 album re-releases with DVD as 3-CD box set, Metal Blade)
- 2010: Glory of Chaos (Album, AFM Records)
- 2012: 30 Years of Hel (double live CD, AFM Records)
- 2012: 30 Years of Hel (DVD, AFM Records)
- 2014: This Wicked Nest (Album, AFM Records)
- 2016 Vampiro (Album, Ellefson Music Productions)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Charles England: Helstar / Eternity Black Guitarist Larry Barragan. In: fullinbloommusic.com. 2006, accessed on November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Holger Stratmann (Ed.): Rock Hard Enzyklopädie . 700 of the most interesting rock bands from the last 30 years. Rock Hard GmbH, Dortmund 1998, ISBN 3-9805171-0-1 , Helstar, p. 162 f .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Helstar. Laut.de biography. In: laut.de. Retrieved November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Markus [Uelhoff]: Helstar . In: Revelation . No. 6 , July 10, 1993, Forgotten Bands, pp. 45 f .
- ^ A b c d e Metal-Mike [Blim]: Helstar . In: Rock Power . incl. Aardschok. Magazine. July 1984, hard & heavy. Record of the month, p. 41 .
- ↑ a b c K.K .: Burning in Helstar! With special guests Avenger of Blood and Ruthless. Cheyenne Saloon, Las Vegas, NV. January 31, 2009. (No longer available online.) In: rockoveramerica.com. Mark Lewis, January 31, 2009; archived from the original on November 22, 2015 ; accessed on November 21, 2015 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d Rita Tupper: Helstar Exclusive. (No longer available online.) In: metaltitans.com. The Metal Titans Team (Peter Ruttan, Charlene Tupper, Rita Tupper), July 12, 2014, archived from the original on November 22, 2015 ; accessed on November 21, 2015 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Mark Ashby: Interview with James Rivera of Helstar. In: planetmosh.com. October 1, 2012, accessed November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Matthias Herr: Matthias Herr's Heavy Metal Lexicon . Vol. 4. Verlag Matthias Herr, Berlin April 1994, Helstar, p. 80 .
- ↑ a b c Colin Larkin: The Guinness Who's Who of Heavy Metal Second Edition . Guinness Publishing, Enfield, Middlesex, England 1995, ISBN 0-85112-656-1 , pp. 167 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Helstar. Biography. (No longer available online.) In: rockdetector.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2015 ; accessed on November 21, 2015 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Unrest in the Helstar camp . In: Metal Hammer . Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Poster Magazine! March 1985, News, p. 6 .
- ↑ a b [Uwe] Buffo [Schnädelbach]: Helstar. On the trail of Count Dracula . In: Metal Hammer / Crash . International hard rock & heavy metal poster magazine! No. 23/1989 , November 3, 1989, pp. 68 .
- ↑ Stefan Glas: Intruder. Escape from Pain (EP), Metal Blade Records . In: Metal Hammer . The international hard rock & heavy metal poster magazine. May 1991, LP Reviews, p. 70 (Helstar as an example of Metal Blades profit orientation).
- ↑ a b c Andreas Schöwe: Helstar. Licked blood . In: Metal Hammer . November 2008, p. 58 .
- ↑ a b c d Mario Karl: Helstar: The Texan hell star continues to shine very brightly in 2010! In: musikansich.de. October 2010, accessed November 21, 2015 .
- ^ Stefan Glas: Demolition . In: Metal Hammer . The international hard rock & heavy metal poster magazine. No. 19-20 / 1990 , September 21, 1990, Out of the Darkness… into the Underground, pp. 136 .
- ↑ Andreas Schöwe: James Rivera. Helstar . In: Metal Hammer . March 2008, Couch, p. 16 .
- ↑ Stefan Glas: Vigilante . In: Metal Hammer . The international hard rock & heavy metal poster magazine. January 1992, Out of the Darkness… Into the Underground, p. 109 .
- ↑ a b c d Jan Michael Dix: Drink, little brothers, drink! Helstar . In: Rock Hard . No. 98 , July 1995, p. 156 .
- ↑ Massacre Records (ed.): Biography Helstar . From 1995 (laundry slip).
- ↑ May '95 . In: Metal Hammer . The international hard rock & heavy metal magazine. May 1995, Soundcheck, p. 48 .
- ↑ New Eden. Biography. (No longer available online.) In: musicmight.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on November 21, 2015 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Boris Kaiser: Helstar. T'was the Night of a Helish X-Mas . In: Rock Hard . No. 158 , July 2000, p. 91 .
- ↑ a b c d e Helstar. Biography. (No longer available online.) In: afff-records.de. AFM Records / Soulfood Music Distribution GmbH, archived from the original on November 22, 2015 ; accessed on November 21, 2015 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e Mario Karl: Helstar - Still heavy and relevant! In: musikansich.de. May 5, 2014, accessed November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ Reini: Helstar - The King of Hell. In: stormbringer.at. September 19, 2008, accessed November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c Michael Edele: Helstar. Glory of Chaos. Laut.de criticism. The thrash share of the US metallers is increasing significantly. Review by Michael Edele. In: laut.de. Retrieved November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c Marc Halupczok : Helstar. Still broke . In: Metal Hammer . December 2010, p. 54 .
- ^ Helstar Bassist to Sit Out Tour; Temporary replacement announced. In: blabbermouth.net. July 11, 2011, accessed November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ Rüdiger Stehle: Helstar bassist Jerry Abarca seriously ill. In: powermetal.de. July 5, 2011, accessed November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ Jerry [Abarca]: Welcome Everyone… In: helstar.com. May 15, 2014, accessed on November 21, 2015 (the date of the last e-mail given on the “News” subpage to explain Abarca's statement is given).
- ↑ a b Helstar: Helstar Recruits Fill-In Bassist Mike LePond for Upcoming Live Shows. In: metalunderground.com. December 20, 2012, accessed November 21, 2015 .
- ↑ Helstar. In: metalstorm.net. Retrieved November 23, 2015 .
- ↑ a b c d e Martin Popoff: The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 2: The Eighties . Collectors Guide Ltd, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 2005, ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5 , pp. 158 .
- ↑ Reinhard Harms: Helstar. Remnants of War . In: Overkill. Metal Hammer Extra . 2 (2nd half of the year), 1986, Overkill-Crossfire, p. 25 .
- ↑ gates Wijnfurth: Bright Star [sic]. Multiples of Black . In: Metal Hammer . The international hard rock & heavy metal magazine. May 1995, CD, MC, LP, Reviews, S. 54 .
- ↑ Martin Popoff, David Perri: The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 4: The '00s . Collectors Guide Ltd, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 2011, ISBN 978-1-926592-20-6 , Helstar - The King of Hell, pp. 215 .
- ↑ Frank Thießies: Helstar. This wicked nest. In: metal-hammer.de. April 1, 2014, accessed November 23, 2015 .
- ↑ Martin Popoff: The Collector's Guide of Heavy Metal Volume 3: The Nineties . Collectors Guide Ltd, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 2007, ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9 , Helstar - Multiples of Black, pp. 196 .