HELSTAR – Interview with Larry

As a result of the improving metal climate these last few years, long defunct bands from the 80s have been giving their dreams another go. Helstar is no exception. One of the few groups to capitalize on the trail blazed by Thrashs big four, this Texas quintet forged a solid discography across a decade-long careerhighlights include Remnants of War and Nosferatubefore calling it quits in the early 90s. Re-emerging from the depths of obscurity with this years The King of Hell, a comeback album that wont win any awards for originality, but whose musical content is a metalheads wet dream: soaring vocals, dueling guitars, and a well entrenched melodic foundation. Helstar may be glorifying Satan for album number six, but its the heavens that appear to have given the band its new lease on life. Feeling glib and self satisfied, guitarist Larry Barragan keeps Metalcentre up to date on everything about his band.

Reviews of your new album, The King of Hell, have been cropping up on various metal webzines lately and the reception so far has been positive. Do you actually search the web for said reviews?

I try not to get too caught up in that. Its nice that the reviews have been good but in the end we know in our heart of hearts if its good or not.

Are there any secrets behind the albums lyrics or the recording process youd like to spill? What dont we know about the behind-the-scenes of The King of Hell?

There really arent any secrets. I think its out there for the whole world to see. We really didnt do anything fancy in the studio. Pretty much just throw some mics on the speakers and drums and let it rip. I will say the only thing we did different this time is that we recorded the scratch tracks for the drums at home. So we didnt play along with Russ (Delcon, drummer) as he was laying down his tracks.

How did the band clinch a label for this comeback?

Blind luck! Actually James (Rivera, vocals) had been shopping around for a label but we didnt have a demo recorded. So we were basically shopping around for a label based on our past history. We were lucky that AFM was willing to take a chance on us.

Honestly, its never a good thing to compare bands but it is convenient, yknow? Listening to your album reminds me of California band Cage mixed with Lamb of God. Did you want this album to sound like 80s metal streamlined and structured according to contemporary tastes?

Yeah, Ive heard of Cage. They played the Keep It True Festival this past year with us. The comparisons are inevitable with any band. I dont think that we were going for an 80s sound. At least that wasnt our intention. Obviously metal has changed over the last 20 years. We dont listen to the same stuff that we used to listen to back then. Our influences are different now. So you know, the music is going to reflect that to a

certain degree.

In the early days Helstar actually played more frequently in San Antonio than in its hometown, Houston. Why? Were there simply better venues and a better scene in San Antonio?

The scene was better in San Antonio. They adopted us and made us their own. Houston had a scene but it took them a little bit longer for them to come around. It wasnt until Remnants of War came out that I think we actually became popular. San Antonio took to us even before we had a demo out.

Can you share some experiences or memories regarding the San Antonio scene in those days? What made bands like Juggernaut, Metal X, (San Antonio) Slayer, and early Pantera special back then? Are you still friends with any of the fans and bands from that era?

I havent seen most of those bands in years. I saw Ronnie from San Antonio Slayer a few years ago. And I talk to Jason from Watchtower every now and then. The thing I remember the most about all those bands is that everyone in those bands could play. They were all great musicians. What I remember about Pantera is watching them play as a cover band. They used to do Ratt and Ozzy and all the stuff that was popular at the time. Dime would absolutely shred those solos. We used to go see them play just to watch Dime. He was known as Diamond back then. I knew Dime but I really cant call myself a friend of his. Though whenever I saw him he was always super cool to me.

When was the first time you smoked pot? And since you were touring on a shoestring budget (or no budget at all) in the 80's for your first few records, how did you manage with your pot habit? Did it eat into the food budget or was there always an inexhaustible stash or reliable source for the weed?

Hahaha!!! Thats a good question. No one ever asked me that before. I guess I was about 13 the first time I burnt one. It stunted my growth, hahaha! You know it was cheap to buy back then and it was always around. Fans were always ready to party.

Helstar actually managed to put out a demo in record time shortly after you graduated from high school. This demo would eventually land the band a deal with Combat Record from the UK. Where was this priceless piece of the Helstar legacy recorded?

All the songs on that demo eventually ended up on the Burning Star album. I have some friends that still have a cassette of that demo. As far as the masters are concerned I have no idea where they ended up.

Youve often noted in previous interviews the bands disappointment with the quality of your debuts (Burning Star) production. But what Im interested in is the cover art. Who did it?

We had nothing to do with that album cover. Music for Nations released it and they changed the cover. We were a bit confused when we saw it because we had a different cover here. But after really looking at it, we loved it. They even changed our logo and thats the logo we went with from then on.

Exploring your extensive back catalogue, I really dig the cover art you had. Especially for A Distant Thunder and Nosferatu. A bit minimalist but very retro if I might say. Who usually conceptualized these? Was it always the same artist who worked on em?

No, it wasnt. I think Metal Blade came up with the A Distant Thunder concept. I think the idea actually was better than the final product on that one. For Nosferatu we got Jim Warren to do that cover. Hes actually very famous. He won a Grammy for best album cover for Bob Segers Against the Wind. He did some of the paperback covers for Clive Barkers books. When I heard he was going to do our cover I was very excited because I had already seen a lot of his work.

Your follow up to Burning Star has grown to become an underground classic. Aside from having a larger budget and a Hollywood studio to record in, Remnants of War, brought everything to the next level. Can you recall the mindset the band had writing and recording that album?

Yeah of course, everyone wanted to play in arenas. Metallica had made it a reality. We all felt like if they could make it then so could we. I dont think we recorded that album thinking, Hey, this is the one thats going to make us rock stars! We just wanted to continue where Burning Star left off. We wanted an album where every song was kick ass.

Your other band, Eternity Black, is also keeping you busy. With a new Helstar album out and the expected touring commitments, do you think the already taxing once-a-week-back-to-back-Helstar/Eternity Black rehearsals will have to be altered?

Oh yeah, its been altered. Weve put Eternity Black on the shelf for now. It just became impossible to do both bands. We plan on doing Eternity Black again at some point, I just dont know when.

Aside from James Rivera, do the members of Helstar today miss their hair from the 1980s? Do you keep promo shots from your heyday hidden from kids and family? What about the high top sneakers from back in the day?

Nah, I dont miss it. Ive had my hair short for years now. It would probably look weird if I grew it out again. I actually have a big poster size photo of me playing at the Dynamo in Eidnhoven back in the day. My kids know what I looked like. As for the sneakers, you know, the styles have changed. I have some black Harley Davidson sneakers that look like Converse All Stars. Black socks are mandatory now.

Are you excited about any other new records coming out this year? How big is your CD collection at home?

I was excited to hear the new Metallica. It didnt let me down. I love it. My CD collection is not that big, maybe 500 or 600 hundred CDs.

Ive had the pleasure of interviewing other artists with careers that span at least 20 years. I always asked them this question and now Ill do the same to Helstar: Based on your experience, what are the biggest lessons youve learned about surviving the music biz?

Really, what Ive learned, Ive learned from James because hes the one that really did music for the last 20 years. And what Ive learned is that if you stay true to yourself and believe in yourself then no one can deny you.