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Helion Prime - Helion Prime

Helion Prime
Helion Prime
by Johnny Jackal at 15 July 2016, 8:11 AM

They are the self proclaimed “Science Fiction Metal band.” According to their official band page, their name is derived from a planet from the movie ‘’Chronicles of Riddick.’’ I have seen the ‘’Riddick’’ movies in a few years so I couldn’t really confirm it by memory but from what I read, it is indeed from that movie. I was expecting full blown pro-typical Power Metal with lyrics that were talking about the usual nonsense we hear about in most of the Power Metal. Let’s face it, the genre has had its fair share of ups and downs and a lot was revolving around the same lyrical content. It was considered as quite unoriginal but this is far from the case. This is one of the very best albums I have listened this year among all the albums I have reviewed for the Metal Temple. They are refreshing and original.

The first song is ‘’Into the Alien Terrain.’’ It’s a very keyboard driven instrumental introduction to the album. Strong narration gives it a lot of depth and you can sense you will start a journey, a quest for knowledge. The second song is ‘’The Drake Equation.’’ It’s a very technical song. The vocalist sounds a bit like Cristina Scabbia from LACUNA COIL. As for the music, it sounds a lot like late 90’s-early 2000s IN FLAMES. I was expecting full blown Power Metal and this caught me by surprise. It has a very catchy chorus. The third song is ‘’Life Finds a Way.’’ This sounded a lot like early INTO ETERNITY. It has dual vocals and tremendous guitar riffs. It talks about the evolution of earth. It talks about dog eat dog and Darwin’s origin of the species. They say life will survive no matter what and it always changes to adapt to the surroundings. They talk about the first humans, dinosaurs and how species want to dominate each other to evolve and survive in the cruel world.

The fourth song is ‘’Into the Black Hole.’’ It starts off with a really sweet and bizarre keyboard solo. The song reminded me of the greatness of bands like AYREON and STAR ONE but a bit faster. All the vocal arrangements reminded me of the genius of Arjen Anthony Lucassen especially on his last few albums. The fifth song is ‘’A Place I Thought I Knew.’’ It begins a pretty nice acoustic guitar solo then you get the beautiful voice of Heather Michele Smith. She talks about disillusion and how much the human kind has made earth a worst place as time goes on. Like TESTAMENT talked about in their last album, Man Kills Mankind. It’s a pretty slow song but quite powerful. The sixth song is ‘’You Keep What You Kill.’’ It starts off with a pretty nice narration. There is a whole lot of Double Bass Drumming on this one and it’s pretty hectic. This is probably the fastest song of the album. It does remind me again of INTO ETERNITY. You also have the nice touch of Harsh Vocals. They talk about that people like to keep trophies to prove their dominance over others. They is a double standard. Some people kill for food, and some kill for triumph. They talk about how people love to show off, especially their dominance over another species.

The seventh song is ‘’Ocean of Time.’’ This reminded me a lot of SYMPHONY X (PS: one of my favorite bands of all time). They talk about how large the universe is with its multiple galaxies and whatnot. Humanity would need a million lifetimes to discover everything. They compare it to analyzing each droplet of water in an ocean. It would take an eternity to take the time to do daunting task. The eighth song is ‘’Moon Watcher.’’ This song if full blown PRIMAL FEAR. They talk about people watching the skies to know what to do with their lives. Some people try to analyze the different phases of the moon to see what it means to life itself. They talk about people watching the stars and their alignments to know what it could mean. Since the beginning of time, man has watched the sky with awe without really knowing everything about it. The ninth song is ‘’Apollo (The Eagle Has Landed).’’ It’s pretty much self explanatory. It talks about the single greatest accomplishment of mankind. The moon landing and how stubborn humanity was and wanting at all costs to walk on the moon. Another song that reminded me of the epicness of AYREON.

The tenth and last song is ‘’Live and Die in the Same Day.’’ It talks about the fragility of life, how you can do in an instant. You live and also die in the same day, you take your first breath and your last breath in the same as well. It’s an internal crisis that eventuality we all have to face. You have some clean male vocals that remind me of AVANTASIA or SONATA ARCTICA. The guy has a killer voice and it’s a really nice touch. This is by far the best song of the album. This is a breath of fresh air from this American band. They have a killer sound and the album cover is a throwback to the old sci-fi movies from the 60’s. One of the best albums of the year bar none.

Songwriting: 8
Originality: 9
Memorability: 8
Production: 8

4 Star Rating

1. Into the Alien Terrain
2. The Drake Equation
3. Life Finds a Way
4. Into the Black Hole
5. A Place I Thought I Knew
6. You Keep What You Kill
7. The Ocean of Time
8. Moon Watcher
9. Apollo (The Eagle Has Landed)
10. Live and Die on This Day
Heather Michele Smith - Lead Vocals
Jason Ashcroft - Guitars
Jeremy Steinhouse - Bass
Justin Herezer - Drums
Record Label: Divebomb Records


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