“Chasing The Dragon”, by US traditional/power metal outfit Helms Deep, is available for streaming below. The band’s second album, Chasing The Dragon, will be released via Nameless Grave Records on June 20.
Helms Deep was formed in 2017 by guitarist and vocalist Alex Sciortino with the initial vision of forming a raw 1980s-style speed/power metal band with the ambiguity and atmosphere of prog and fusion. The project had been in the works for around five years before he linked up with drummer Mike Heller (Raven, Malignancy, ex-Fear Factory) and bassist John Gallagher (Raven) and got to work on the first Helms Deep album, Treacherous Ways. Following a brief, initial independent release on Bandcamp, the band was quickly discovered by Nameless Grave Records, who signed the band for an official release in 2023.
During the tracking of Treacherous Ways, Sciortino hit a jolt of inspiration and wrote eleven more songs for a follow-up album, which now arrives as the glorious odyssey titled Chasing The Dragon. Though the debut was lauded, and the project gained an international following, its follow-up would be created with a different focus. Sciortino enlisted drummer Hal Aponte (Ice Age) for a more organic and progressive feel and brought in his guitar teacher from his early years, Ray DeTone (Paul Di’Anno’s Killers), on second guitar.
Chasing The Dragon was recorded in 3D, with DeTone on the left channel, and Sciortino on the right, with the massive Aponte and Gallagher rhythm section gluing it all together. Boasting the larger four-piece lineup with this recording setup, the second album presents a much more organic and live sound, which resulted in minimal editing and a focus on and capturing the personality and humanity in each member’s performance. The album also features unorthodox folk instruments, with guests Liang Wu supplying erhu and Cliff Hackford supplying Tabla. Chasing The Dragon demonstrates an explosive and intriguing metamorphosis of Helms Deep.
Co-produced by Ray DeTone and Alex Sciortino, re-amped by Lasse Lammert and Detone with DeTone handling the mixing at Dancetone Music Studio, Chasing The Dragon was mastered by Andy Van Dette (Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Fates Warning, Girlschool, Rush, Savatage), and the cover art was handled by nine-time Hugo Award-winning artist Bob Eggleton. The result is an eclectic and raw blend of power and speed metal with elements of prog and fusion fans of Savatage, Raven, Crimson Glory, and Satan will not want to miss
With the title track’s deployment into the public sphere, Sciortino reveals, “‘Chasing The Dragon’ was dubbed the title track since the writing and recording of the album was completed in the Chinese Year Of The Dragon (coincidentally, or fate?) and we went with that as the theme for the album. It’s a good showcase of the band’s speed with some interesting subtle elements in the intro, like soprano guitar – which you don’t hear often in metal – which sounds kind of like a harp. It was chosen as a single because it’s one of the catchier, more concise songs on there, where others are longer and a bit proggier.”
Chasing The Dragon will be released on 2xLP with silkscreened D-side, CD, and digital formats on June 20. Find pre-orders at the Nameless Grave webshop here, and Bandcamp here.
Chasing The Dragon tracklisting:
“Wing Chun”
“Black Sefirot”
“Chasing The Dragon”
“Cursed”
“Craze Of The Vampire”
“Flight Of The Harpy”
“Frozen Solid”
“Necessary Evil”
“Red Planet”
“Seventh Circle”
“Shiva’s Wrath”
“Chasing The Dragon”:
“Flight Of The Harpy”:
Helms Deep are:
Alex Sciortino – vocals, guitar, steel string, 12-string
John Gallagher – bass, backing vocals
Hal Aponte – drums, percussion
Ray DeTone – guitar/nylon string, 12-string, steel string, heavy breathing
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The post HELMS DEEP Feat. RAVEN’s JOHN GALLAGHER Streaming Title Track Of Upcoming Chasing The Dragon Album appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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Helms Deep was formed in 2017 by guitarist and vocalist Alex Sciortino with the initial vision of forming a raw 1980s-style speed/power metal band with the ambiguity and atmosphere of prog and fusion. The project had been in the works for around five years before he linked up with drummer Mike Heller (Raven, Malignancy, ex-Fear Factory) and bassist John Gallagher (Raven) and got to work on the first Helms Deep album, Treacherous Ways. Following a brief, initial independent release on Bandcamp, the band was quickly discovered by Nameless Grave Records, who signed the band for an official release in 2023.
During the tracking of Treacherous Ways, Sciortino hit a jolt of inspiration and wrote eleven more songs for a follow-up album, which now arrives as the glorious odyssey titled Chasing The Dragon. Though the debut was lauded, and the project gained an international following, its follow-up would be created with a different focus. Sciortino enlisted drummer Hal Aponte (Ice Age) for a more organic and progressive feel and brought in his guitar teacher from his early years, Ray DeTone (Paul Di’Anno’s Killers), on second guitar.
Chasing The Dragon was recorded in 3D, with DeTone on the left channel, and Sciortino on the right, with the massive Aponte and Gallagher rhythm section gluing it all together. Boasting the larger four-piece lineup with this recording setup, the second album presents a much more organic and live sound, which resulted in minimal editing and a focus on and capturing the personality and humanity in each member’s performance. The album also features unorthodox folk instruments, with guests Liang Wu supplying erhu and Cliff Hackford supplying Tabla. Chasing The Dragon demonstrates an explosive and intriguing metamorphosis of Helms Deep.
Co-produced by Ray DeTone and Alex Sciortino, re-amped by Lasse Lammert and Detone with DeTone handling the mixing at Dancetone Music Studio, Chasing The Dragon was mastered by Andy Van Dette (Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Fates Warning, Girlschool, Rush, Savatage), and the cover art was handled by nine-time Hugo Award-winning artist Bob Eggleton. The result is an eclectic and raw blend of power and speed metal with elements of prog and fusion fans of Savatage, Raven, Crimson Glory, and Satan will not want to miss
With the title track’s deployment into the public sphere, Sciortino reveals, “‘Chasing The Dragon’ was dubbed the title track since the writing and recording of the album was completed in the Chinese Year Of The Dragon (coincidentally, or fate?) and we went with that as the theme for the album. It’s a good showcase of the band’s speed with some interesting subtle elements in the intro, like soprano guitar – which you don’t hear often in metal – which sounds kind of like a harp. It was chosen as a single because it’s one of the catchier, more concise songs on there, where others are longer and a bit proggier.”
Chasing The Dragon will be released on 2xLP with silkscreened D-side, CD, and digital formats on June 20. Find pre-orders at the Nameless Grave webshop here, and Bandcamp here.
Chasing The Dragon tracklisting:
“Wing Chun”
“Black Sefirot”
“Chasing The Dragon”
“Cursed”
“Craze Of The Vampire”
“Flight Of The Harpy”
“Frozen Solid”
“Necessary Evil”
“Red Planet”
“Seventh Circle”
“Shiva’s Wrath”
“Chasing The Dragon”:
“Flight Of The Harpy”:
Helms Deep are:
Alex Sciortino – vocals, guitar, steel string, 12-string
John Gallagher – bass, backing vocals
Hal Aponte – drums, percussion
Ray DeTone – guitar/nylon string, 12-string, steel string, heavy breathing
BraveWords Records… home for Paul Di’Anno’s Warhorse, The Chris Slade Timeline, Rhett Forrester & Rob Robbins, Prophets of Addiction, Jack Starr, Crimson Glory, ASKA and Lillian Axe.
Make sure you are following the label on Facebook. >> https://www.facebook.com/bravewordsrecords
The post HELMS DEEP Feat. RAVEN’s JOHN GALLAGHER Streaming Title Track Of Upcoming Chasing The Dragon Album appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
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