Over the past few months, I had been pondering the realization that I had that Heavy Metal concerts were not enjoyable to me anymore. This past November I waited through four shitty opening acts (although the direct support, WARBRINGER, was pretty good) to get to NEVERMORE, a band that up until that concert I had considered one of my favorites. To their credit, Jeff Loomis and Van Williams were fantastic, but it was overshadowed by a Jim Shepphard that was so intoxicated he had trouble standing up and a Warrel Dane who was so drunk that he kept forgetting the words and acted like a total asshole the whole time. I saw an OPETH show and realized that they're more interested in sounding like a boring neo-prog band with a jazz influence; they even wasted ten minutes of their set playing this long, drawn out quiet song. Zzzzzzz. A KING'S X set revealed a band that was really showing their age (despite the respect I have for them for continuing to play into their late 50's-early 60's). Don't even get me started about the Big 4 concert at Yankee Stadium that vastly overcharges loyal fans suffering in one of the worst economic crises in a long time. In fact, the only metal band that I enjoyed seeing over the past 2 years has been ACCEPT. In addition, I was sick of having my concerts ruined by smelly, overweight metalheads who ruin everyone else's experience by shoving and hitting them, sexually harassing the women at the show and general, all-around dickery.

While I wouldn't say that I was approaching the HELSTAR show with trepidation, I found myself, as I was driving to the concert, wondering if this was even worth my time, despite being on the guest list and not having to pay. This is not a slight against HELSTAR, who have several kickass albums, including their most recent one, "The Glory of Chaos." It was simply due to past experiences and letdowns from previous shows I had been to. I was surprised to see that the show was in a smaller room off in the side of the already small venue. I set up camp to the side, not too far from the stage, at a table where I could have a flat surface to take my notes.

The first band to take the stage was ACID QUEEN. They were all-instrumental for this show, although they said they were looking for a singer. The first song was a faster-driving rocker, although they had some mid-tempo songs as well. They were definitely solid players and I think if they find a good singer, they could definitely go somewhere.

After that was REVELATION. They played a slow and doomy style of music.

The direct support came from VOLTURE, a band that I had lower expectations for because I was unimpressed with the couple of songs of theirs that I looked up on Youtube. However, live they completely shattered expectations. They played tight and the instrumentalists were very talented, especially lead guitarist Nick Paulos (any musician who wears a TROUBLE vest and a CANDLEMASS shirt will catch my attention), who shredded up a storm. The sound was of a US Power Metal band much like fellow Virginians TWISTED TOWER DIRE, whose guitarist, Dave Boyd, also performs with VOLTURE, along with some NWOBHM influence as well. Vocalist Dave Hubbard sounded like a mix between Rob Halford and TOXIK vocalist Mike Sanders! There were plenty of kick-ass riffs and headbang-able tempo changes to go around. Their style just screams for a producer like Piet Sielck. I really hope that they are able to capture this energy on their upcoming full-length album.

At the end of the set, a little voice in my head wondered whether HELSTAR would be able to avoid being overshadowed. That voice was silenced as soon as the heavy guitars and James Rivera's trademark vocals hit my eardrums. The setlist consisted of a healthy mix of older songs and ones since the band reformed in 2007. I found that their songs really came alive in a live setting. I appreciated "The Glory of Chaos" songs on a new level. I think that that album suffered because of the production job. James Rivera's voice is holding up well, he can still unleash some impressive screams. I tried to maintain composure through the set, which was difficult because HELSTAR rocked so hard, but when they played "Baptized in Blood" I completely lost it and went up to the front of the stage. There were probably less than 100 people in attendance, but no one was standing still for that song. The crowd was very diverse, but there were no neo-nazis or other negative metalhead stereotypes ruining the show for the rest of the audience. It may seem sad that a historic band like HELSTAR drew such a small crowd, but it was an amazing experience. It felt like the band was jamming in front of a few friends, it was very intimate and the energy was incredible.

So it turns out that my fears were for naught and that this was one of the best metal concerts that I have been to in years. I had a fantastic time and now I can cross one band off my list of bands I want to see perform live before I die.

Click here for the complete picture gallery from this show.