Sjak: The return of the American outfit Helstar within the heavy metal scene was already announced last year by means of the compilation album ‘Sins Of The Past’, on which the band had placed a large number of their best songs in a re-recorded version. They had also added two new songs in the shape of ‘Tormentor’ and ‘Caress Of The Dead’, which sounded very promising in my opinion.
Besides ‘Tormentor’ and ‘Caress Of The Dead’ this ‘The King Of Hell’ record contains seven other tracks, which truly showcase the sheer class of this band. After a mysterious intro the title track explodes out of your audio set and you’re immediately hooked on the fantastic complex riffs of both guitarists Larry Barragan and Rob Trevino, who are in great shape on the whole album by the way. Also world-class singer James Rivera announces himself by means of a gruesome scream and clearly demonstrated why I rate him as one of the absolute best vocalists in the heavy metal scene. He has a very unique sound, which fits perfectly within the complex music of Helstar. Also drummer Russel DeLeon deserves special recognition because his passionate drumming is absolutely awesome.
You don’t get any chance to recover from the title track, because ‘The Plague Called Man’ announces itself, again a great metal track which reminds me quite a bit of another band that James used to play with in his career, namely Destiny’s End (their both records ‘Breathe Deep The Dark’ and ‘Transition’ are must-have items for real heavy metal freaks by the way!). Great fast riffs, beautiful solos, powerful vocals and again an impressive Russel DeLeon. If they can keep up this quality level during the whole record, I’m afraid they can take me away to the hospital immediately. ‘Tormentor’, known from ‘Sins Of The Past’ follows, in which the extensive and innovative solo part is the highlight. On the next song ‘When Empires Fall’ the fast pace is a little bit gone, but that doesn’t mean that the intensity is no longer there, on the contrary! If you like tempo and variety, then ‘Wicked Disposition’ is a perfect match, what riffs and solos! Also the other four tracks on offer (‘Caress Of The Dead’, ‘Pain’ (by far the best track on the album, talk about intensity!!!), ‘In My Darkness’ and ‘Garden Of Temptation’) are of an exceptional high quality and account for the fact that the intensity level of ‘The King Of Hell’ doesn’t drop for a single moment.
It may be obvious that every serious heavy metal fan must go out and buy this album. When you do this, then I’d advise you to get the first edition, because that one contains three extra bonus tracks. With my promo album the fun lasted for fifty minutes, but I’ve solved that problem by listening to the record again and again. A certain candidate for a top position in my yearly list, that’s for sure!
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