HELSTAR
LARRY BRANAGAN
Helstar from Houston, Texas is an institution in the metal community after more than thirty years in the business. Back in the early eighties Helstar signed up to Combat Records and became label mates with Megadeth and Exodus. The band debuted in 1984 with Burning Star. The follow-up Remnants of War was released in 1986. In 1987 Helstar relocated to Los Angeles and signed up to Metal Blade records. A Distant Thunder was released in 1988 and Nosferatu saw the light of day a year later. Things were going great for for the band and they made a name for themselves without fully breaking into the mainstream.
During those years Helstar gigged with everyone from Motörhead to Megadeth and Anthrax. But on the peak of their career the trends of the nineties came and Metal Blade dropped the band. Still Helstar managed to release the Multiples of Black album in 1995 through Massacre Records. But then the band more or less fell apart. But James Rivera reunited with Larry Branagan and Helstar returned and released Sins of the past through AFM Records in 2007. Since then Helstar has released three more albums on the same label, The King of Hell in 2008, Glory of Chaos in 2010 and This Wicked Nest in 2014. I have talked to the Helstar's founder and guitarist Larry Branagan.
We can start with a small presentation of Helstar...
Well, where to begin. We've been doing this since about 1983 or so. We put out our first album on Combat Records in 1984. I think we have nine official releases. We were there in the heyday and we're still doing it today. I think most people know that James Rivera fronts this band and together we are the nucleus of the band.
Lets start from the beginning. How did you get in contact with Combat Records?
They contacted us actually. We had recorded a demo of what later became Burning Star. Back then the tape trading thing was really big. Somehow or another our tape ended up in the hands of a writer for a fanzine called Metal Forces. Our demo topped the charts on the fanzine. Combat got a hold of the demo and then was in correspondense with Metal Forces to find out where we were located. That's when they gave us a call.
You debuted in 1984 with Burning Star, how was that time?
It was a great time to be in a metal band. It was in full swing. The scene in Texas was incredible.
In 1986 you toured Texas with Anthrax, how was it to tour with them?
They were great to us. They were very young as well. We got along great. I think they were touring for Spreading the Disease. They weren't much drinkers like us but they were very cool to hang out with. Those were some very good shows.
The band relocated from Houston to Los Angeles in 1987. Was it because of the metal scene in L.A.?
No, not at all. We were in talks with Metal Blade and it looked like we were going to sign with them, which we eventually did, and we just wanted to be close to the label.
In 1989 you released Nosferatu, What do you think of it in retrospect?
What can I say? I wish the album would have taken us to the next level. But it wasn't meant to be. The critics didn't like it and the label didn't know what to do with it so that was that. We got dropped from Metal Blade and we never fully recovered until now.
Nosferatu (1989)
David Ellefson of Megadeth produced your Multiples of Black from 1995, how was it to work with him?
I had left the band around that time and I wasn't a part of the recording. So, I don't really have an opinion on that.
Why was the band so inactive during the nineties and early 2000's?
Well, like I said, I left that band because I was just unhappy with the business part of it. It just broke me down to the point where I didn't even play my guitar for a few years. James tried to keep it going but the scene had also taken a change and it became the grunge era. It was a rough time for everyone really.
Since 2007 you have released four albums with favourable reviews. How has these last couple of years been? How has the interest in the band been lately compared to the eighties?
Now you have the internet and it's just easier to be seen and heard. I think we're more popular now than we've ever been. In the 80's there was no Blabbermouth to feed stories about metal to the fans. The news spread very slowly.
You have a character called Skulley on the artwork for your last two albums. Isn't it a bit late to make a mascot thirty years into the bands career?
Ah, I don't think so. I mean way may not carry on with it on the next album but it's been kind of cool to have a theme on the last few covers. He's also on the live DVD cover as well.
Burning Star (1984)
Helstar has always been a highly respected band amongst metal fans but you guys never fully reached the stardom of bands like Judas Priest, Dio or Metallica. What do you think was the reason for that?
Where do you want me to begin? How much time do you have? Ha, man, it was a lot of things, bad business decisions, line up changes, changes in the scene. In the end it just didn't happen for us. We have no one to blame but ourselves. Do I wish I could do some things differently? Of course I do but we don't dwell on the past. All we can do is move forward.
You released The Wicked Nest last year, are you satisfied with how it has been received by media and your fans?
Yeah, I think for the most part it was well received. We're never going to statisfy everyone and to be honest we don't even try. All we do is try to write songs to the best of our ability and we're the ones that have to be happy with the outcome in the end.
Helstar has been labelled as power metal, speed metal, thrash metal and a bunch of other tags. But how would you describe your sound?
I think we have all of those elements and I think the problem with fans and media is just that. They want to put you in a box and when you do something outside of that box it freaks them out. I think we're Heavy Metal. That's all. Because we want to do whatever we want. We wrote a song on the last album that had a very doomy sort of feel to it. We did that because we wanted to always do something like that. Does it make us a doom band? No, not at all but that influence is there and sometimes it comes out.
What bands are you influenced by?
Oh God, where to begin? Exodus, Kreator, Melechesh, Nevermore, I think you can learn from everything you listen to really.
So what's your plans for the future, are you going to record any new material soon?
I have actually writing material for the next album as we speak. So, I'm hoping for a 2016 release.
Helstar - Live
What's the highlight of the bands career?
Right now. Right now has been the best time for us. We've done more touring than ever before. I think we're more recognized now than ever before. We just did 70,000 Tons of Metal for the second time. Not every band gets to do those kinds of things. We're having a good time right now.
Have you got any funny story to tell, if anything weird has happened while touring or recording?
I have a bunch but I think none of us wants to go to jail or get divorced so I'll skip this question!
Any last words to our readers?
Jim, thanks for a great interview! For the fans, keep your ears open for news about the band. I think we may be heading back to Europe in the Fall. Thanks to all the fans for giving us the fire to continue to do what we love doing.
Cheers!
By/Ruthless
(29-01-2015)
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