I only just realised yesterday they'd released this and so I dashed rabidly to to check it out from mp3s and from hearing half it already I realise my foaming mouth was in vain..

It's a pretty big letdown. I should have expected it really. Most classic bands bow to the downtuned modern sound and this band isn't any different.

They said it was going to be in the vein of "Nosferatu" and it isn't really. It's thrashy in parts yeah but the classic melodies of that album are nowhere in sight and everything's just buried in that horrible groaning, miserable modern downtune guitar sound which I fucking hate.

It very much reminds me of Agent Steel modernising their guitar sound...I don't know why so many bands reject standard tuned guitars nowadays.

Anyways what's everyone else think?

The downtuned guitars aren't bad, and they weren't bad in Agent Steel either. It's just that with Helstar, they played too slow and didn't rely as much on the riffs as they used to.

I think this is both one of the best Thrash comebacks ever, and one of the best albums of the year.

Agreed. The guitars really do not bug me that much - they add a visceral thrash egde to the power metal melody of Helstar. And the vocals of James are still amazing as hell!

I couldn't disagree more.
I think it's a great album.

Wow, where were you guys when I was defending the new Agent Steel?

Thinking it was sorta mediocre, though not nearly as bad as anyone was saying. I'm a pretty huge fan of the reunion albums though. I think I actually like Omega Conspiracy more than the 80's stuff. Alienigma is a grower though, I appreciate the modernized sound.

I just compared the speed with A Distant Thunder and I couldn't tell much difference. The main difference is they stopped doing the tremolo multi-picking they used on the 80s albums, and the riffs are less intricate, so maybe that's what you are talking about. I don't think anyone would claim the album is better than any of the 80s ones.

I really hate that new Agent Steel; it's dumb and watered down in every sense. However, I like the new Helstar ...the complexity is still there and so is the melody. Wish they'd speed it up a bit at times butt well, Rivera sounds great and the drumming and guitar-work are very impressive.. It's certainly not my favourite Helstar recording, but I'll probably end up listening to it more than say, the debut, which to this day I just still can't all that enthused about.

I like the debut. Good, classic stuff.



That's true, and I haven't really listened to it in a while either.

Yeah, most people seem to. It's not really bad or anything, to me, but it just doesn't have the extra-something that similar bands of the time (Manilla Road, Liege Lord, maybe) do for me. Also, I find James Rivera to be a little too exciteable on "Burning Star".

I tentatively agree, but I haven't given it too much time yet. Honestly I don't really want to, either, going by what I've heard so far. Rivera's vocals are still good, sure, but the riffs blow balls on most songs. Cliche modern down-tuned crap indeed.

True on all points. The debut is pretty much meat-and-potatoes version of what they would become on say "Nosferatu" which to me is a eternal power/thrash classic with really great and intricate guitar playing. Rivera's voice matured a lot by then so I think that would be my pick for best Helstar album.

Funny, Nosferatu lacks the special sort of underground metal flare that I liked about the three before it.

...and I think "A DIstant Thunder" is my favourite .. a bit of a thrash influence, but it still has some of the more majestic, epic feeling and maybe Rivera's best vocal performance. So many stellar songs on that album.

"Nosferatu" comes in second for me.

The new album grew on me a bit too. There's certain things I don't like about it (seriously doesn't it sound like there's a few breakdowns?), and like others said the riffs aren't as good as before... but I still think it's a solid comeback. The solo's are also really amazing and definitely have that Helstar touch to them.

The riffs are my main issue though. The riffs and rhythms on Nosferatu blow everything on the new album out of the water. I've just always been a bigger fan of consistently fast and swift riffs that were all over Nosferatu, but they're definitely not really here on the new one. They've got that modern chugging, etc.

It has problems, but it's not like I was ever expecting this to beat out their classics. And compared to most comebacks thesedays, I'd say it's really good. I'm not sure if it'll beat out some of the other newer albums Rivera has been a part of though, like Distant Thunder's album, Vicious Rumors new one which I really enjoyed, etc. But hey, it's no Multiples of Black!

Not to contradict my reviews, but I can never really decide which album my favorite is from them. Distant Thunder has some unforgettable tracks like "Winds of War", Remnants while never really doing anything too crazy is just very consistent and totally awesome, Nosferatu is a one of a kind like nothing else out there quite like it ... etc. Those three are just way too good.

Also if you guys haven't, you need to hear The James Rivera Legacy. That material is the closest they got to Nosferatu. Kind of a shame we didn't get a full release from them under the Vigilante name.

How is that possible since Helstar never were, and certainly are not now, a thrash band? I agree with the OP, the downtuned guitars are full of fail and only accentuate the songs' (that I heard) faults. I wasn't expecting much after hearing the drop in quality from the Sins of the Past rerecordings to the two new songs on the album, they were just so out of place there. It's a real shame we ended up with this while there's still inexcusably just one Distant Thunder album. Basically, you don't take a bunch of guys who created a band like Eternity Black, have them make a metal album, and expect excellence. A damn shame.

If they had Andre Corbin back, things probably would've been a lot different.

I like the album. It's a very good comeback and one of the better (not best by any shot) thrash albums of the year. Sure it doesn't beat their classics but who thought it could have?
I really hope I'll get to see them live though now the Death To X-Mas Fest got canclelled :/

And oh yeah, "The James Rivera Legacy" is one awesome album \m/

I haven't heard their previous albums, but I rather like this one. Tormentor in particular is an awesome track, but the rest can get a little too samey.



Good question, I quite liked that album when it came out myself.

It grew on me quite a bit, to the point where I consider it to be one of the best albums this year. I have heard only Nosferatu from the old stuff and loved that one as well. This, while being a whole lot different, is still a very fine piece, and the downtuned guitars don't bug me at all. It's not like they turned to mallcore or whatnot, the music is still classic stuff. ANd the vocals are amazing on this one.

my problem with the old helstar records compared to the new one, is the vocals.
i have a hard time listening to the vocals on the old albums because they are so out of key. guitars were always great but the vocals to me were just so off. The new record to me is different. James acually sounds on.. You can tell they did something because when you listen to the sins of the past recording of tormentor and caress of the dead, the vocals sound like shit.. out of key like a motherfucker, but the rerecording is actually correct. i actually wish they would get heavyer, and the downtuned guitars dont sound that downtuned to me.. sounds like straight D tuning.

Only time I recall Rivera being close to out of tune on a studio album is Nosferatu, but I'm pretty sure that was on purpose as it fits with the songs.