REVIEW: HELVETETS PORT “WARLORDS”

Gothenburg’s HELVETETS PORT issued their debut album “Exodus To Hell” on High Roller Records in 2009, followed by the “Man With The Chains” EP a year later. They returned with “From Life To Death” in 2019 before being stopped in their tracks by the global pandemic, like most other bands.

Singer Witchfinder explains the situation: “We didn’t have much time to play concerts between the last album release and the point when the pandemic came. We did however play one of the very first shows in Sweden after the restrictions were lifted! Otherwise we’ve been fiddling with new songs. It might not be as quick of a follow-up album as we would have wanted, but hey, at least we made it twice as quickly as last time! Or half as slowly…”
Of course we are talking abut the brand record “Warlords”, which is a clear progression in comparison to the first two albums of the Swedes. Witchfinder continues: “With the release of “From Life To Death” we exhausted most of the material we had written up until then, which included a lot of older stuff. This time around basically every part is newly written, save for the fact that it is five years between the albums, so not all super new in that sense. But like I often say, we’re not a band that needs to be in with the times. If a song takes zero or five years to come out, it would be just as dated.”

In other words: HELVETETS PORT’s style is timeless, sticking to the strict paradigm of traditional heavy metal music, but always trying to retain its individuality. “We delved deep into the dungeons of melancholic obscurity with “From Life To Death,” characterises Witchfinder the band’s last record and compares it to the new one “and now we felt like a change of pace. The sound on “Warlords” is more towards 1984 than 1981. It generally has a post-apocalyptic theme and the songs are a bit more straight forward. Although straight forward when it comes to HELVETETS PORT might still be considered progressive by someone else…”

“Mutant March”, “2049”, “Legions Running Wild” – “Warlords” consists of some high-class material – but the pick of the bunch possibly is “Golden Axe”, coming across like a mixture of classic Heavy Load and Omen. “That’s a big compliment!,“beams the singer, “Heavy Load have always been a big influence and to an extent Omen. ‘Golden Axe’ is the only ‘medieval’ song on the album, so we are letting you know we have not left that topic.”

Review

01. Black Knight blows open the barbed wire gates thundering through the smoke and air polluted with the ashes of enemies. It is a song that is chock full of character with its weaving riffs and driving bass lines. The little solo is burning hot and and may just scold you if you if you push the volume to loud! Solid opener!

02. Wasteland Warriors charge across dusty lands tearing up everything in their path. It builds up quickly bringing in each instrument. And what I love about the bands sound is that it is raw and rough the edges. This is a big ol’ chunk of oldskool heavy metal to sink your teeth into. The rhythm work is what I feel dominates this track even though you have some lightly harmonised guitar riffs that jump in and out. So get ready to put on the shades and shake some beard whiskers!

03. Mutant March at first feels like you are high above the clouds looking down on the earth. It has this kind of weird space vibe going on and synths acting as a bed to the rest of the music.Something lifted right from the past almost from like an 80’s sci-fi movie. But the highlight is the spit in your face attitude of the chorus. It will literally destroy you. That could be from being crushed by its stomping march or from the spooky “Mutants” brainwashing you. At just over 6 minutes it is a longer track but has plenty going on to keep listeners easily satisfied. I jut simply the punch of the chorus! Great stuff!

04. Hårdför Överman kicks up the dirt in your face with its faster tempos. And up and till now we have had the first three tracks in English but this time we get a song in Swedish. It is a short track at around 2.20 but i think by the end of the track they certainly emptied the petrol tank! Once again some great riffs flowing here!

05. Tyrants in Tokyo is around the half way mark of the album and once again we get some more solid rhythm work. It has some little melodic sections later in the song but alas they came and went very quickly. I am sure the vocal lines of the chorus will get people singing along but not teh strongest track on the album.

06. Legions Running Wild delivers more of that hard hitting heavy metal that we all love switching it up between paces and squeezing in lots of ideas with the guitar work. Not to mention some smashing mid head tempo head banging moments. I think this will be one of those songs that makes the setlists for sure. So definitely a track that please fans of the band for sure!

07. Cry of the Night feels like your on a motorbike belting down a highway with rain hammering your face. It is fast and furious with roaring rhythms and pounding sections of double kick carefully placed. You even get some moments of sizzling heavy metal screams that add some sparkle. The solo plays with some tempos firstly harmonised before whipping out a single lead. I think by the end of the track you will feel bit hungry and ready for a burger and beer!

08. Helvete På Larvfötter is the first single to be released from the album and again another in Swedish. When I first heard this song on Youtube I was instantly caught by the chorus. It picks up speed and has this eeriness to it. The lyrics of Helvete På Larvfötter are carried on a bed of menacing guitar and rhythm work and I know this is going to grab the attention of fans at the bands shows. I love the breakdown towards the end where the guitars drop out so you can join in with the words! Nice! So chuck on your leathers and your metal wrist bands and get ready to throw some hair and pump some fists.

09. Key to the Future shoots you into the darkness, uncontrollably jetting you through portals into multi dimensions out of this world. Another song that delivers on the slightly darker side in terms of feel I would say. It has some kick ass scales nicely placed here and there as well as some great backing vocals adding some big ah’s! The solo is properly one of the more adventurous and interesting on the album something I wish they did more of. Anyways get ready to run through the mists of time and enjoy Key to the Future!

10. Golden Axe Will take you into war! This is a song that is injected with more fire and flair and in typical Helvetet’s Port fashion continues delivering on the solid rhythm work. It feels like another safe track despite having a few moments where the guitars spit like fireworks. It tumbles and twists and even has some nice bass licks if you listen carefully! I think It will bring out the warrior in many and make a great little battle song!

11. 2049 is the last track on the album and opens with some 16th notes on the high hats before whipping some quick picking on the guitars. Once again like many tracks on the album it bounces between tempos and there is not a single moment where the listener will not feel engaged. I like how the vocals switch tone especially going higher on the choruses. And the solo, is another one on the album which is pretty killer! This is certainly a stronger song and a nice way to finish up teh album.

Conclusion

I will honest I have not listened to much of Helvetets Port but I am pleasantly surprised. They are somewhat very unique and different to a lot of heavy metal bands I have i have heard. I think this boils down to how their tracks are very rhythm focused and have lot’s of ideas flowing! Witchfinder’s vocals particularly stand at the forefront of everything and only add to the bands sound.

“Warlord” is essentially a somewhat adventurous and fun album that I think will certainly please listeners. I just really hope that they add more melodic elements to their music in the future. There are moments where I hoped for more of this but went away too quickly. So fingers crossed they move more outside of what is familiar. Apart from that a solid slice of metal from the band!