Helstar

All Music Guide:

Helstar was one of America's better kept heavy metal secrets throughout the 1980s, composing a string of consummate LPs that earned the band many critical accolades, but failed to sell in large quantities. Most likely, the band's constant dealings with unreliable independent labels, combined with incessant personnel turnover, were the chief deterrents. Formed in Houston, TX, in 1982, by vocalist James Rivera and guitarist Larry Barragan (the only guaranteed mainstays over the years), Helstar was soon making waves in underground tape-trading networks with their very first demo and, by 1984, released their debut album, Burning Star, for Combat Records. Produced by Rods drummer Carl Canedy (also responsible for Anthrax's first platter), the disc contained high-end classic metal and featured second guitarist Tom Rogers, bassist Paul Medina, and drummer Hector Pavon -- all of whom would be jettisoned by the time of 1986's Remnants of War follow-up and replaced by Robert Trevino, Jerry Abarca, and Rene Luna, respectively. But that album, too, failed to bolster the band's popularity, and feeling increasingly out of place amid Combat's thrash-dominated roster, Helstar relocated to Los Angeles and signed with Metal Blade for their next two efforts, 1988's A Distant Thunder and 1989's Nosferatu. Both of these featured new guitarist Andre Corbin and drummer Frank Ferreira and saw Helstar gathering more fans while touring both America and Europe with the likes of Tankard and Yngwie Malmsteen. This was not enough to keep their motivational fires burning, though, and a subsequent return to Houston soon led to a long period of inactivity, interrupted by intermittent reunions like 1995's distinctly Barragan-less Multiples of Black and a 1989 live recording released in the year 2000 as T'Was the Night of a Helish Xmas. The group became officially active again in 2007, releasing Sins of the Past, a collection of eleven, revamped classics and two new songs. It was followed in 2008 by King of Hell, an all new collection of original material.

Wikipedia:

Helstar is a heavy metal band from Houston, Texas, formed in 1982.

History

Helstar began with a basic metal style in 1983 with 2 demos, followed by their first studio album in 1984 titled Burning Star for Combat Records, making them label mates with Megadeth and Exodus. Struggles within the band and management issues broke apart the band line-up. After a year they reformed and released the Remnants of War album, also on Combat, produced by Randy Burns.

In 1987 they moved to Los Angeles with another line up change, with guitarist Rob Trevino departing, and it is believed that the song "Abandon Ship", from the 1988 A Distant Thunder album, was dedicated to his departure. Along with guitarist Andre' Corbin, Frank Ferreira was an addition to drums. They signed with Metal Blade Records and recorded the A Distant Thunder album produced by Bill Metoyer. After the departure of Andre' Corbin and Frank Ferreira, Helstar regrouped again and recorded a demo but gained no interest from the labels.

Shortly after, Larry Barragan left the band to pursue other interests. In 1989 the band released Nosferatu, which many fans consider their greatest album. It was based on the early Dracula film and contained spoken sound bites from the movie. Between 1990 and 1993 Helstar released a few demos that failed to receive great recognition. In 1995 Helstar released a new studio album entitled Multiples of Black, but did not achieve the quality from earlier albums and fans consider it their worst release.

The members of Helstar namely James Rivera cooperated in other bands between 1993 and 2002, Seven Witches for a short time in 1993, Distant Thunder in 1995 and Destiny's End. This was a super group put together by James Riviera that released two studio albums, Breathe Deep the Dark in 1998 and Transition in 2002. Helstar went through several reunions starting in 2001. These reunions were primarily organized by James Rivera and longtime bassist Jerry Abarca.

Several live albums came out of this period, but the band was unable to produce any new material. In 2006, for the first time in over 15 years, James Rivera and Larry Barragan reunited and Helstar were officially declared musically active again. Along with Abarca, Rivera and Barragan, also reunited with the Remnants of War album were guitarist Robert Trevino and Eternity Black drummer Russell De'leon. This lineup has since released Sins of the Past, "a greatest hits collection" of re-recorded songs. A new album has been released with the Remnants of War line-up in 2008 titled The King of Hell.

Current lineup

Former members

Guitars:

Drums:

Bass: