This Wicked Nest

Our Texans who art in Helstar, quality be thy name! Still a ballistic barrage of heavy metal goodness but better than “Glory of Chaos,” which was better than “The King of Hell,” which was an impressive yet contemporary return from one of heavy metal’s darlings. “This Wicked Nest” is the first of the group’s reincarnation works to capture the olden intricacy of the Helstar brand by reducing the band’s incredibly aggressive thrash tendencies à la Exodus and circling back towards heavy/power metal influences that are more compositionally dynamic and wide-ranging. In a sentence, “This Wicked Nest” sounds like the muscle and bones of Helstar’s newer records juxtaposed to the mentality of the band’s early days, and once again their prominence is justified. “This Wicked Nest” is yet another impressive notch in Helstar’s belt—and the choir says, “What else is new?”

While I enjoyed both “The King of Hell” and “Glory of Chaos,” this is a welcome upgrade; I’m glad “This Wicked Nest” doesn’t stall on the overt themes of those two records and that it runs on its own conceptualization. Following the latter-day formula with melodic sequences and songwriting improvements that together show more depth than the band’s recent ventures into castrating viciousness, “This Wicked Nest” supplies modern thrashers interlinking the stout elements of Helstar’s dynamic songwriting, which were mostly missing from the slay-slay-slay take on “Glory of Chaos.” The tunes are stratified with vibrant guitar parts and to a larger degree an element of variety between anthems, triggering each tune to individually format its own designs and make these songs their own enterprises.

Yet incorporating a level of variety properly requires a degree of versatility, and there are few groups that have shown to be as suitably adaptable as Helstar. No problems are shown launching into customary thrash-based raids like “Defy the Swarm” and “It Has Risen,” yet simultaneously the melodic guitar lines of “Fall of Dominion” blend into the record’s texture smoothly, and at least make sense in their context. The slow riffing throughout the mid-paced “Cursed” and the guitar acrobatics of the instrumental “Isla De Las Munecas,” again, spice up the progression and represent the Helstar tribe nicely. I find the songs to be wide and complex; they’re layered with several parts, none of which halt the album’s surge or hinder the balanced attack of what “This Wicked Nest” offers.

The creative avenues are augmented by the expected level of performances, which are flawless. James Rivera sounds great at his age growling and rasping and shrieking and wailing like a banshee on fire; the excellent leads and sturdy rhythm section further support Helstar’s thrash-based direction with wider compositional options. In sum, take “This Wicked Nest” as an evolution of modern Helstar—an extensive, smarter revision of the band’s work since reforming. It’s my favorite of theirs since “Nosferatu,” because “This Wicked Nest” does not rehash the past or settle for the safe path; it ends up sounding dynamic and explosive. Not bad for a bunch of old fogeys.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

Aesthetically speaking, there is not a whole lot to like about "This Wicked Nest". I find the album title rather too general and apt to be lost in a sea of other seemingly meaningful yet ultimately meaningless titles; quite all-encompassing but in a way that is too trite to merit contemplation. "The King Of Hell" which is chapter one in the chronicles of nu Helstar was at least straightforward in its menace and "Glory of Chaos" is the TRUEST HELSTAR ALBUM TITLE EVER!!! since the band has since its inception been a bundle of chaos. Controlled chaos, yes, but chaos nonetheless. "This Wicked Nest" as a title is bland and easy in comparison as is its packaging. The artwork is rife with doomsday themes but looks like a conspiracy theorist's absurd rantings about the clandestine forces that govern us all via art. "The King of Hell" and "Glory of Chaos" were not subtle either but they weren't shabby. So aesthetically "This Wicked Nest" sucks but since the real art to be appreciated here is the music, let's not tarry any further with the finer points of outward presentation.

Musically speaking, there's a whole lot to really like about "This Wicked Nest". I find that of the three albums the Texans have put out since starting down the road of modernity, it is their most satisfying and complete work. Post-"Nosferatu" Helstar albums suffer inside depths of obscurity from which they can't be lifted from and that is due in large part to the fact that Helstar's finest was an affair of excess, of grace and finesse that anything else simply pales in comparison. "The King of Hell" did not necessarily try to replicate the charm and character of "Nosferatu" but it laid it on too thick with the heaviness and that and only that became the trait by which the album is defined by. It is a heavy monster of a record but nothing else stands out-not the riffs, not the hooks. Songs trickled by only to bludgeon you but with nothing for you to recall them with. Helstar could still be admired for being ambitious but not so much for being creative. Songs like "When Empires Fall" winked to the past, adorning a riff cycle out of "A Distant Thunder" while the title track, "The King of Hell" became the ode to "Painkiller" James Rivera had always intended to write but you see, around that time, Pharaoh had become the quintessential American power metal band, crafting fully fleshed songs that relied on more than just heaviness to put their point across and consequentially, Helstar although generally agreed upon as still effective could simply not be looked upon to raise any bars, set any trends or redefine the game. "Glory of Chaos" proved this even more fully than "The King of Hell" did. It had heavier, thrashier songs than anything the band had done before and yet there wasn't much of the darkness and atmosphere earlier albums had provided. No character. Larry Barragan and Rob Trevino had paid close attention to the invasion of Lamb of God and Nevermore and only the melodic interpretations (and charisma) of James Rivera was keeping the band stationed in the power metal realm. Helstar imitators like Germany's Sacred Steel were doing a better job of balancing the shades of thrash with the tenets of power as their "Hammer of Destruction" album proves. "Glory of Chaos" upon multiple exploration will endear itself well to one already partial to Helstar but even then, its creases and strained moments become fully real than apparent.

Which leads us to "This Wicked Nest". The groundwork was laid with the two previous albums and now Helstar delivers an album that is a thing of dark beauty. It is brazenly heavy which is not a new thing but it has character and depth which is a brand new thing. For example, James Rivera scream his head off on the title track but not to show off his admirable range, he does so in a manner of crazed pontification which fits the rapt tension supplied by Larry and Rob's riffing. The song gives off a vibe of disaster and impending doom in superlatively effective tones than its cousin "Pandemonium" (off "Glory of Chaos") could ever muster. "Cursed" is another highlight-a masterfully woven epic that swings from emotive ballad to fierce crushing doom-and provides one of James Rivera's finest vocal performances ever on record. It also boasts of the best guitar solo on the entire album and a superb bass presence courtesy of Matej Sušnik. Hearing "Cursed" unfold, you are arrested with feelings of surging dread and rampant despair but as it winds down there is a sort of dark transcendence achieved. "Defy The Swarm" on the other hand claws the shores with a neat thrash assault given great aplomb by Michael Lewis' unflagging drumming and Rivera's maniacal rasps. The lyrics attest to the album's general themes of unavoidable conflict but in a more optimistic manner than Testament's "Formation of Damnation" and certainly with more finesse than Death Angel's recent "The Dream Calls For Blood".

"Defy The Swarm" and opener "Fall of Dominion" mark the album's most modern metal moments and they are modern Helstar done right. "Fall of Dominion" is rich with chiming melodic guitars whilst maintaining the heaviness that is nu Helstar's trademark. It is also catchy and laden with hooks making it an instant live staple. It is certainly not "The King Is Dead" or "Baptized In Blood" but since we already have those, its place in the Helstar picture is well earned. The songs that follow it mine similar territory but still leave their mark. Ultimately the whole album does make a significant mark. It is a thorough and coherent modern masterpiece. It does not allude to the past but neither does it act like it never existed for you can hear the same rawness and gusto in Rivera's vocals as in "Remnants of War". It is brainy and layered but is also fun and theatrical. It is not overly earnest or pretentiously grand and most importantly, it has songs that stick in your head and make you wanna hear them again and again. Not all songs are gems but there's ample room to explore and cultivate interest because these area actual musical statements of craft and character. Comebacks are a tricky thing as Tad Morose are surely learning with their mildly interesting but largely touch and go "Revenant" album. It took Helstar two attempts but they have finally gotten their new style legitimized. "This Wicked Nest" is a triumph and proof that they are still far away from their twilight years.

Helstar is a band that has been around, in one form or another, since 1981. Vocalist extraordinaire, James Rivera, has one of the best voices in metal and their first four full lengths are metal classics that did not get the exposure that they deserved for whatever reason, which is criminal in my opinion. The 90s were even less kind to this band as their only release in the 90s was scorned by fans and critics alike. In 2001 James put together a Helstar (sort of) band that toured Europe and the USA and it seemed that a spark was ignited for the band again. In 2006 the band was reunited with the Remnants of War line up and they began to write music together once again releasing King of Hell in 2008 and Glory of Chaos in 2010.

So here we are in 2014 and the band's ninth full length album, This Wicked Nest. Now let me get this out of the way here, this is a different era of Helstar and if people were thinking that they were going to get repeats of Nosferatu over and over again, they might be disappointed. I do know that the new direction started with King of Hell alienated some fans of their older material and that's sad because what we have is a heavier and more straight forward band. This band still can write monstrous riffs and ridiculous technical solos of which there is no shortage on this album. This is an angry Helstar and it's that anger that makes this music that much better. Coming straight out of the shoot is the album opener and the song that was released as a teaser, "Fall of Dominion." This is a balls out riff fest with James' screams that are just blood curdling. This song is a straight ahead thrasher but still has good melodies. The chorus is catchy and James' voice sounds great on those choruses. The solos are insane as Larry Barragan and Rob Trevino are two of the best guitarists in the business. "Eternal Black" comes in and is another crusher with some killer riffs that seem a bit more technical in places and there is some parts that are reminiscent of the old days. This is a straight forward headbanger. James sounds evil on this song as his screams are a bit more gravely on this one.

The rest of the album is petty much the same with more fast pummeling riffs but with great melodies provided by Mr. Rivera. The title track is another song that just pounds you with modern thrash riffs and James' signature screams. The solos stand out again...because they just do! As I said before, this is a modern Helstar that was not satisfied remaking their classics over and over and it's very apparent that they wanted a more modern take on their brand of metal. It took me a few listens to really soak in what was actually going on here and as much as I love those classics, there has been many years between them and James has made a lot of music with a lot of different musicians of different styles. This album is a mix of everything that James has ever done. This album is proof that this band is not done yet and songs like "Soul's Cry," "It Has Risen," and "Defy The Swarm" show that they are not afraid to throw in the influences they picked up a long the way. James was flirting with a black metal shriek ten years ago and he has thrown even more of those types of vocals mixed in with his classic screams. These types of vocals actually fit with the aggressiveness of the songs and sheer brutality of the riffs.

I've been anticipating this release since it's announcement and I'm more than satisified. There were a couple of moments that didn't quite grab me. The instrumental, "Isla de las Muñecas" was okay but given that it was written by Larry Barragan and Jeff Loomis (ex Nevermore) I expected more. "Cursed" was a slower song that was almost Helstar doing doom metal and that song took the longest for me to really "get." Nonetheless, this is another solid release from a band that is considered legends in heavy metal and this album is another reason why.


http://elitistmetalhead.blogspot.com/

Modern Helstar – in my eyes, at least – is pretty much the poster band for all reborn, reinvigorated eighties acts. While there are a couple of other success stories, Helstar’s rebirth has been a convincing and involving one. Welding a ferocious thrash metal approach to a tried-and-true US power metal sound is one I deem entirely successful. Old fans may well yearn for the days of Nosferatu and Remnants Of War, but when you hear Helstar smoking a vast majority of genre forerunners, I think it’s time to sit up and take note.

If King Of Hell laid the foundations for modern Helstar and Glory Of Chaos built upon that foundation with twisted, towering spires; then This Wicked Nest pierces the foundation, uproots the spires, and wreaks bloody havoc via its devastating array of stabbing vocals, furious riffs, and tumultuous percussion. Pure fire and brimstone; Helstar blends in both the venomous, Teutonic thrash metal style with that of melodically-driven US acts a là Heathen, Overkill, or Lääz Rockit, and strain it through US power metal style structuring.

The band sounds entirely on the money, spewing energy and creativity throughout. There are countless furious, speedy outbursts, anchored by intelligent arrangement and spear-headed by James Rivera’s characteristic vocals. It’s amazing the guy hasn’t ran out of steam – especially considering how active he’s been over the last thirty years – he seriously throttles his voice here, with Painkiller-style high range and some killer, throaty aggressive lines. Blended with some of the most bad-ass riffing I’ve heard this year, the result is truly violent and affecting.

Where I think This Wicked Nest sets itself apart from prior opuses is in the aforementioned arrangement and song-writing. Whilst there are numbers which recall the straight-forward, steam-rolling approach of Glory Of Chaos, the way the songs are structured reminds me of the leaps and bounds made in the band’s eighties hey-day. Epic numbers like “Fall Of Dominion” or the suffocating “Cursed” are orchestrated in meticulous fashion, with ever-shifting technical passages springing to mind Heathen’s progressive spin on thrash metal, as well as having that deft dynamic approach many power metal acts flirted with in the late eighties.

Helstar seriously nails it here, barely missing a note in a flame-ridden leviathan of an album. Wonderful song-writing and skull crushing riffs level the appeal between power metal fans and thrash fans, although caution may be worth taking for the strictly melodic inclined. Nonetheless, This Wicked Nest is an impressive album from a veteran band, showing levels of energy and creativity which happily rival many a younger whippersnapper. I can nigh on guarantee this will loosen the neck, and as such recommend thusly.

Written for Black Wind Metal

I could really do without the generic politicizing on metal albums! My own politics are barbaric, dubious at best and fall somewhere between the Klingon and Sith Empires, but when I hear some cliched quote like the one you'll find at the beginning of "Fall of Dominion" circa Thomas Jefferson, my eyes start to roll up. Not that these words have somehow lost their relevance or meaning in a world saturated with gamma male government media bullshit (i.e. today), I just think it's a case where artists will pluck a fat, ripe fruit safely from a low hanging branch...like most Hollywood films or television shows, they seem to think we're all stupid lemmings and can't dig a little deeper beyond our History 101 texts. Holy crass over-analysis, I think I'm actually supposed to be writing a music review here...

Fortunately, that is where Helstar excels on This Wicked Nest, their eight full-length effort (I'm not counting the rare one with the re-recordings), which continues the 'THRASHSTAR' legacy they embarked on with Glory of Chaos four years back. Not that they've suddenly transformed into a Houston Slayer, or anything, but they mix up the shred-infused power metal aesthetics with a lot of harder hitting, low-end palm muted phrases and pure propulsion that worked for me last time, and it works again here...hard. Despite me scoffing at the quote in the first tune, the inaugural melodies really do a lot to set up that air of elegance, emotion and sophistication they imbued into their cult classics like A Distant Thunder and/or Nosferatu, and once those Branagan/Trevino riffs start blazing along, I was immediately infected. Furthermore, once James Rivera lets out that first Halford-esque scream, I must have reverse aged about 25 fucking years to better days when the metal was put to the pedal and bands like this very fucking one used to dominate my Walkman as I delivered the dailies to middle class suburbia. Oh what a sight and sound I made.

(Ed: Tried to review the rest of this from a 14-year-old perspective, failed, deleted. So allow me to fail from my normal, frighteningly-close-to-middle age.)

At any rate, if you did not enjoy the harder hitting spin on the classic Helstar formula present on the last album, it's unlikely this will alter that perception, but I for one just enjoy having a USPM band open the silos and just let goddamn loose. Attacker did it last year, and while This Wicked Nest is nowhere near as brilliant, it's chalk full of bustling thrash chops and James' indistinguishable voice which sounds just as powerful, cutting and unique as it ever did 25-30 years ago. I like to think that New Helstar continuously seeks atonement for Multiples of Black with these newer albums, and if they continue to entertainment on this level I may eventually offer my personal forgiveness. The riffs are hardly rocket science, and not as individually memorable as those you'd fine on Nosferatu or any of the albums before that, but there's this great balance of forward-charging patterns and formidable, traditional leads, interspersed with slower, harmonized mute picking patterns reminiscent of their 1988-1989 stuff which just gets me every time I hear it. The bass-lines are thick, the drums are a little too poppy but otherwise inhabit that fulfilling sense of ass-kicking energy the Texans espouse.

This is not exactly the dirtiest or evilest material, but it's that contrast between the pummeling rhythm guitars and Rivera's higher range that gives it a Painkiller-on-steroids feel in tunes like "It Has Risen" and the title cut, which is pretty much perfect for pumping iron and makes me air-kick at the nearest wall like a pussy. The good ole spry triplet gallops return, as do the slicing effects on Rivera where he'll echo off some higher pitched scream at the edge of the pan, giving him the audio countenance of an alien air raid. In truth he doesn't sound a whole lot different than a quarter century ago, with the exception of marginal studio wizardry, and the guy even throws out some nasty black/thrash rasps which don't sound nearly as hokey as they might have. There are points where this transitions directly into what feels like a meatier castoff from A Distant Thunder, or something which might have sufficed on either of the Destiny's End records, and while that's not 'news' it still feels as vividly and appropriately entertaining as anything this band will likely ever write again...

This Wicked Nest suffers slightly from a lack of subtlety, nuance and variation, and I for one would love another concept disc like Nosferatu where those elements are better formed and fulfilled, but in the meantime I am more than happy to hear Helstar clad its nostalgia with the armor of the present. Might lack some of the surprise reaction I had towards Glory of Chaos, but at the very least this was the most 'fun' album I've experienced in several weeks, and so once again I offer my thanks to Rivera, Branagan and company for holding this beast together way beyond its expiration date.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

When evolving a sound, as with anything else, there are a number of right ways and even more wrong ways in going about it. Naturally, many would prefer it if a band widely held as a significant forerunner and important historical contributor to a style would stick to their guns (*cough* Metallica), but while this is usually the best way to go, it is possible to revamp a sound without completely losing your target audience in the process. Helstar proved that one can change a bit with the times without sacrificing one's core back in 2008 with their well regarded comeback album The King Of Hell, which introduced a heavier, modern thrash metal element into their power/speed metal equation, and have stuck with it consistently up to and including their latest effort This Wicked Nest.

Assuming that one isn't familiar with the modern, revamped character that has dominated Helstar's present sound, it might be best likened to a halfway point between the post-Painkiller aggression of many recent German speed/power outfits and the pile-driving, percussive character of modern thrash albums such as recent Exodus and Overkill (think Killbox 13). When being pummeled by monster thrashers with just a tad bit too much melody and formulaic speed metal quirks to fully qualify as pure thrash metal in “Fall Of Dominion” and “It Has Risen”, it actually almost sounds like these Texans were listening to a fair bit of Demolition Hammer's seminal albums, though not quite taking the speed factor to the same exaggerated speed.

Just about everything that bursts from the speakers while this album is in play screams unfettered rage and revulsion, befitting the obvious political undertones hinted in the album art. But nowhere is the point made clearer than in James Rivera's spellbinding vocal performance. He's evolved a bit since the days of Remnants Of War and has mixed in some extreme shouts and blackened shrieks to complement the obvious Rob Halford and Ronnie Dio gymnastics that he can still belt out as if he were rivaling Harry Conklin and Geoff Tate back in the mid 80s, making for a perfect match with the heavier, mechanistic style being employed. His versatile abilities are further underscored by a soulful croon during the ballad sections of “Cursed”, a song that hearkens back a little closer to the semi-modern character of his work with Destiny's End.

But in spite of Rivera's forbidding vocal presence, This Wicked Nest proves to be a powerful collective effort that bridges the divide between thrash and power metal. It includes a rather impressive array of technical lead guitar breaks in every song (heavily reminiscent of Alex Skolnick and Kirk Hammett actually), to speak nothing for the instrumental display of riff wizardry with a slightly progressive edge “Isla De Las Munecas”, as well as some top notch drum work out of Michael Lewis, who is the lone newer member in the lineup. It might be a let down for some of Helstar's older fan base who want them to embrace the retro-character that has been heavily prominent in thrash metal circles of late, but not for anyone wanting a bone-crushing, modern take on metal that stops just short of leaving the power metal paradigm completely.

Originally submitted to (The Metal Observer) on April 24, 2014.