lista zespołów Power Metal Helstar Burning Star

Helstar's first album isn't the best album they have ever put out, but it's still an important piece of the band's puzzle. The best way they can be described is almost akin to an American Judas Priest, with some similarly adventurous tendencies. The riffs are pretty firmly in the Priest camp but you can hear some of their future technical leanings here. That riff under the chorus of, say, "Possession" is pretty convoluted and yet, oddly really catchy at the same time. Or the unexpected speed up at the end of anthemic 'banger and best track here in "Run With the Pack". Even at this stage Helstar was a band who did things differently on closer inspection, even within the framework of verse/chorus song structuring. The lead guitar work that would become a trademark of theirs is already really excellent; Larry Barragan's lead playing is melodic and colorful without delving into Yngwie-style inane fret board acrobatics.

What hurts this album is what ails a lot of young bands right out of the gate: inconsistency. This is much more so than their later albums; in particular, "Witch's Eye" is a very bland song that doesn't do anything brilliantly, and "Leather and Lust" is, frankly, kinda crappy. Lamest chorus of the lot, weakest riffs, etc. There really are some great songs on this record, but when it's off. James Rivera is also at his least controlled here, sometimes for good - his enthusiasm singing every one of the vocal melodies is palpable - but some of his falsetto wails are also irritatingly piercing.

Overall this album falls short of greatness but this is still a generally worthy record. 80's Helstar was a terrific band and while this is the least so of the bunch, it's still very above average.