vote
8.0
- Band:
Helms Deep - Duration: 00:57:35
- Available from: 20/06/2025
- Label:
-
Nameless serious records
Apple Music not yet available
We had already talked about the Helms Deep project at the time of the extent of the “Treacherous Ways” onset, labeled by us as a convincing product with a strong impact for all the Defender and, in general, for heads of Heavy Metal in the old way, well played and packaged with care.
Two years later, in view of the new studio production, the band sees the entry of two new members, including a second guitar, to reinforce the leader and frontman Alex Sciortino, and a new skin officer, or Hal Aponte, already active in Thrasher Coldsteel.
Instead, what has not changed is the substance: we are always and in any case in the presence of an excellent heavy metal, able to combine the best dictates of the American scene with the classic British style styles, also thanks to the presence of a veteran like John Gallagher, directly from the legendary Raven.
After an anter with an oriental semblance, the band breaks with melodic and impacting on the wagite of “Black Sefirot”, and then increased the Speed Metal component with the subsequent titletrack, and then slightly incussing the songwriting on “Craze of the Vampire”, whose refrain still manages to exquisitely result Catchy.
From this initial triptych our expectations are respected, confirming what are the obvious strengths of a project that really manages to merge the dark grit of American metal with the most typical melodic airy of the Anglo -Saxon one, with a result that seems immediately equivalent, if not superior, to that of the debut product, moreover with a enhancement of the individual tools to say the least. None of them are sacrificed and in every situation a remarkable harmony transpires, as well as the will to give each piece a distinctive feature, as confirmed by a re -entry “Curseed”, which exudes the 80s literally from every note, or by a shaved as “Flight of the Harpy”, with which the BPMs begin again, to then touch an apex worthy of the best head neck route on the following “Frozen Solis”, which with its aggressive and stinker incede is positioned by right between the best pieces of the package.
Incredible to note how, even approaching the end, there is not even a truly undertone or trivially recycled piece compared to the others, despite a very consistent duration; Apart from a cadenced and less effective “Red Planet”, which probably disfigures in the negative also because of its location among two other capital songs such as “Nevery Evil” and “Seventh Circle”-both impacting in a manner also because of a couple of unexpected compositional finds, which make the first look like a piece with a more modern character and the second in the all-like sound.
The closing on the short instrumental suite “Shiva's Wrath” is also very good, which begins in a purely acoustic key and without skimpy on the references to ethnic music, which remain partially even when everything moves to the distorted dimension, as confirmed by the wise use of the modal stairs, to reconfirm the huge musical skills sported by the international combination.
A further step forward compared to a very convincing debut in itself, as well as a very welcome confirmation of the musical level we are referring to in these lines, in which we started talking about Heavy Metal and this is exactly how we intend to conclude, since there is really a need for records with this inspiration in the classic panorama, and we hope that this reality does not want to dwell on the activity in the studio, but that all of us are worthy live.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
