|
Helstar mainman James Rivera started the band in the early 80's and even as Helstar took a break, he was always active. Now Helstar is back with a new album!
The new album is called The King Of Hell and a good reason to talk with the sympatico from Texas. And as the singer is doing interviews already for a few days I was interested how the new album was received from others. James told me happily "The reactions overall are very, very positive. The people love the record!" And then told me about the title The King Of Hell... "We had several titles in line when we were writing the songs. We made comparisons and the way the song came out, it was a great opening track. Beside that it was the whole package. The title was great for a cover concept, nice on shirts and great for a backdrop. And once we looked at the whole picture, it was quite clear." Talking about shirts and a backdrop indicates that they will tour... "Yes, there was a tour line-up, then the line-up changed and the tour was moved. January instead of December." The Tex singer explained that the live set will have a lot new songs... "We will play some classics, but only a few! Beside of me, having a Helstar line-up since 2001 we played a lot. How many times we played this songs, it's time for some new songs! We feel so strong about the album that we focus on it, and we will play a classic of each other album. By January real fans will have the album for 3 months, so the songs aren't that new. The fans will know the songs" the man from H-Town is confident. And I think it will be nice to hear a lot of the new ones! With In My Darkness the band from Houston shows a different side... "In My Darkness can be compared with Fade To Black, about going new ways. We should have tried before... It could have brought us to a different level." James said and continues: "We have never written a song like that. Larry wrote the lyrics about this guy who killed about 3 yrs. ago... The university killings. Rob wrote the music." He also told me that Larry and Rob feel that they been unfair to James and his part in Seven Witches. That they admire the work now. "They never let me sung that way" he adds. I told James that it seems to me that this time the bass is more prominent then at previous albums. "We wanted Jerry to play 'against' the guitars this time. In the past he always played along with them. We wanted him to play bass parts and not play like a he has a tuned down guitar. He almost had to learn to play that way! But now he loves it!" I was wondering about the intro of The King Of Hell which isn't typical for Helstar and has some female voices... "Yeah, we played here in Houston with that band - 3 female singers - and they were really good. And we already had thought about some guest vocals, so we asked them. We gave them the Latin words for The King Of Hell and the music. And this is what they came up with. I did have a melody line, but never told them about. And at the end it's not much different from what I had in mind! I never let them hear my version, their's is just... wow!" But there was another thing I wanted to talk about with Mr. Helstar James Rivera - one of his former bands, about Seven Witches. At RockHard Festival James mentioned to me that there are some news, so I wanted to know more! "Jack and I, we are talking a lot! He apparently will release some albums. My Seven Witches albums are the best." James states his opinion - and I have to say, that at least live they were the strongest with Rivera. "Michael from Symphony X is a huge Priest fan and they will work together. They will add some heaviness. I will do it, if Jack wants me to. It depends on schedules, but sometime next year. We are already talking about a title... throwing up on ideas. And there is one idea I had... simple, but it would fit well - Back To The Other Side." Sounds like they are really get it on the way... And I like the title. It seems that it will be a busy year for the Texan singer... "It will be a busy year. We will play festivals here and there. Headbanger's Open-Air and RockMania are on the table." and he told me enthusiastically "The guys in the band... It's amazing, it's like we never been apart! We just got a little older - and more mature!" Sounds like Helstar is back to rock the stages! I'm really looking forward to see them touring Europe in January - and to have another chat with James and get the latest news about Helstar and Seven Witches!
|
|
