I always see new upcoming Heavy Metal bands floating about but I rarely divulge in them for the simple fact that they almost never live up to the excellence of Maiden, Priest, Saxon or so on. Equally those three bands (and other classics) continue to release great music so why bother with new stuff right? Well, let’s hope that Helvetets Port can change my mind with their brand of Swedish Metal fury. Having formed back in 2001 the band have some sort of pedigree, but didn’t release their debut Exodus To Hell until 2009, this was followed by 2019’s From Life To Death and now we witness Warlords put out by High Roller Records.
Black Knight rips in with atypical classic NWOBHM riffage. Once the vocals drop there is a hint of Manilla Road present. It’s not especially fantastic but it truly captures a true Metal sound without relying on deliberately poor production or stupid vocal effects like similar bands. Wasteland Warriors comes in with more of the same, there is a little bit more of a hook here but the production feels a little thin. It’s more Heavy Metal rain shower than Heavy Metal thunder. The themes remain the same into Mutant March, although I will say this is one of the highlights of the album, it feels a lot more dynamic, but it’s not exactly rivaling Saxon or Priest or even the likes of Visigoth for a more modern tone. Hårdför överman is the next offering, the drums finally burst into life and add an air of Metal that has been lacking and even though I like my Heavy Metal to have a singalong quality to it this Swedish song is still pretty strong and catchy. Keeping the drums at the forefront is Tyrants In Tokyo and once again the outcome is quite a punchy delivery, but something isn’t clicking for me.
As we cross the middle of the album with Legions Running Wild I’m somewhat conflicted on Helvetets Port. Their songs have all the hallmarks of a fantastic Heavy Metal band. Truth be told they are, but every song feels like a filler from a much better album. The ongoing filler tone remains in Cry Of The Night, I will say since Mutant March the album does up the power a bit more. Also none of this is bad, I’d listen to this over a lot, but I think Heavy Metal really needs to fully slap you round the face and this simply doesn’t. Helvete på larvfötter shows more Swedish language flair and again is brilliantly catchy like its counterpart, another highlight actually. After this is Key To The Future which is simply another fine example of Heavy Metal, not wildly amazing but okay. By this point I really can’t say much more, Golden Axe and 2049 pass without much wonder to round off a desperately average experience.
To say I actually dislike this album would be unfair, I had fun at points but there were a few moments where I just wanted it to come to a close. Perhaps uninspired is the general term I would use, maybe a bit dull? It’s kind of like a bunch of true Metalheads got together and decided to write a true Metal album but as a result are stunted by their own elitism, thus creating a generic, bland mixture of classic Heavy Metal ideas.
(5/10 George Caley)
Leave a Reply