Helstar are a band who should need no introduction around these parts. The advent of a new album from James Rivera and the gang should draw the attention of any self respecting metalhead. Opinions were divided amongst the glistening ranks when The King of Hell hit the shelves, and as far as my two cents (pence) go I always felt it was a cool enough album although unable to rival the classic Nosferatu. Moving on now, having taken ample time getting to know Helstar's latest opus; Glory of Chaos, I can safely say that this is a cut above The King of Hell.
Glory of Chaos is jam-packed full of ass-kicking riffs, and James Rivera, well it's James Rivera, I can't believe his range is still in top form after all this time. His performance on "Alma Negra" proves he can still rip it up with the best of them. As previously mentioned the riffs full on smoke, straddling the line between thrash and power metal, not to mention the lead guitar work which really cooks. In fact the whole band is in top form here.
Throughout Glory of Chaos we see Helstar sticking largely to the power/thrash model, and with the exception of the short closing track they keep things hard and heavy, you can really just hit play and headbang along to the end. At times I'm reminded of Exodus' Tempo of the Damned album, especially in the track "Pandemonium" though this is largely due to the sizzling guitar tone, both clear and crunchy. Personal favorites would include "Bone Crusher" which is pretty much the music equivalent of literally kicking someone's ass. BONE CRUSHERRRRR. "Summer of Hate" is another favorite, featuring samples from a Charles Manson interview that Dragonland used on their album Starfall ("Calling My Name"). This is one of the more mid-paced tracks on the album but it's nonetheless an ass kicker, with one of my favorite vocal performances of the album. The aforementioned "Alma Negra" also stands out as a favorite particularly due to Rivera's excellent performance.
Overall Helstar are on the ball with Glory of Chaos. I had my slight doubts at to begin with, and admittedly the first few spins didn't leave much of a lasting impression, although they were always enjoyable. However the more time I took with this one the more I come to love it. While not the most memorable or amazing album of the year Glory of Chaos is very good and fans of Helstar or James Rivera's other work probably won't be disappointed. Solid, reliable and maintaining the quality throughout, you really can't go wrong here. Recommended.
