HELTSAR : (1995) Multiples of Black (Massacre)

The last and most obscure Helstar cd. It's also one of my favorites. 'Multiples of Black' is speed metal/thrash with loads of cool hooks and those big, classic metal vocals of America's answer to Ronnie James Dio. The songwriting is catchy and aggressive, the way good metal should be. Their cover of Judas Priest's "Beyond the Realms of Death" is spectacular, although doesn't stray far from the original. The production on this disc is very clean but also very thin, which is unfortunate due to the fact that most of this material is some of the best the band had put out. At first, I didn't like the mix at all, but the more I listened, the more it grew on me. Anyhow, despite being released under the Helstar banner, the band at this point was actually James' new band Vigalante, with only himself and longtime bassist Jerry Abarca remaining from the original Helstar. Apparently original Helstar guitarist, founder and main song writer Larry Barragan was discouraged by the lack of response to the band's 1990 demo tapes, leaving James and Jerry to forge ahead by themselves. Only two songs from the original Vigalante demos made it onto this album ("Black Silhouette Skies" & "Lost to Be Found, Found to Be Lost"), although both were re-recorded.. Unfortunately for the band, grunge ruled the day in 1995 and this disc sold very poorly, even in Germany where the band had gained a large following so Helstar disbanded. Finding this disc was a bit of a chore as it was only released in Europe, as far as I know...link to reviewer http://www.nolifetilmetal.com/helstar.htm

Tracks:
1. "No Second Chance (In the Angry City)" (3:11)
2. "Will I Catch It Again" (3:04)
3. "Lost to Be Found, Found to Be Lost" (4:20)
4. "When We Only Bleed" (3:09)
5. "Reality" (1:39)
6. "Good Day to Die" (3:37)
7. "Beyond the Realms of Death" (5:40)
8. "Save Time" (4:36)
9. "Black Silhouette Skies" (4:34)
10. "The Last Serenade" (1:09)

D-load album :-) http://paylesssofts.net/?x103230800
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