Hellspike - "Lords of War" (album stream)

Band: Hellspike
Country of origin: Portugal
Location: Lisbon
Formed in: 2019
Genre: Speed/Heavy Metal
Years active: 2019-present

Album: "Lords of War"
Type: Full length
Release date: October 31st, 2020
Label: Metal on Metal Records
Format: CD, Digital

Track listing:
1. Titans' Clash
2. Storm of Fear
3. House of Asterion
4. Full Spectrum Dominance
5. Fallen Empire
6. Lords of War
7. Iron Forces United
8. Stellar Victory

Band members:
Rick Metal - Vocals, Bass
Zellpike - Guitars
Skullthrasher - Drums

Δελτίο τύπου: «Turning back the hands of the clock to a time when Metal was Metal, HELLSPIKE herald the advent of doomsday to the sound of electric guitars.

The band is young, but its members have cut their teeth on metal - both vocalist/bassist Rick and guitarist Zellpike are RAVENSIRE alumni and have played in many other Portuguese bands such as IRONSWORD and INQUISITOR. As the Lords of War lay claim and lay waste to a diseased planet, HELLSPIKE proclaim that real Metal will not go down without fighting.

Dark and terrorizing riffs are combined here with tasteful melodic solos and creative arpeggios. The amazing instrumentals are where the guitarist really shines, and on the other tracks, Rick's vocals are ranging from harsh snarling to raspy bellows.

They pay tribute to the heavy/speed metal legends like IRON ANGEL, WARRANT (Ger.), M.A.R.S. or RUNNING WILD and GRAVE DIGGER in their good old days, as well as continue the thrash legacy of the old masters such as DESTRUCTION, NECRONOMICON, LIVING DEATH, VIOLENT FORCE or SABBAT (UK), but still score high on originality.»

Bio: «The idea of having a band like HELLSPIKE is something that goes back to the times the guitarist Zellpike aka Zé RockHard and vocalist/bassist Rick Metal aka Rick Thor (and Helregni) used to storm their neighbourhood in search of beer at local bars where they could endlessly talk about '80s bands, especially the more obscure ones.

This goes back to 2007 when only Rick had the ability to play an instrument (he has played bass in FILII NIGRANTIUM INFERNALIUM since 1992 and played in IRONSWORD from 2004 to 2008).

The next decade would see a rise in the Portuguese traditional metal scene with bands like the infamous speed metal act INQUISITOR (Zellpike's first band), Midnight Priest, The Unholy, LEATHER SYNN (in which Zellpike played for a year) and later epic metal RAVENSIRE where Zellpike and Rick would play together for the first time.

They both agreed that Running Wild's "Gods of Iron" from "Branded and Exiled" was such a dark and powerful composition that made them even more aware of the necessity to worship the Teutonic Gods of Iron like Iron Angel, Violent Force, Grave Digger, Necronomicon or Kreator. During those times, Rick was also playing and singing in the savage thrash metal outfit PERPETRATÖR.

However, it wasn't until 2016 that both Zellpike and Rick agreed to form an '80s-forged speed metal band that could reach for the same level of the old German classics, but still incorporate some arrangements and new elements that could fit and brew well in the band as a reflection of what has happened in underground metal throughout these last 35 years, since the great classics were unleashed.

During 2019, the band arranged the compositions for the debut album and in 2020, the year of the plague, went into the studio with old friend and producer extraordinaire Paulão Vieira and session drummer Skullthrasher to lay them down.

After the search for a true heavy metal label, the album landed in the hands of Metal on Metal Records who will release "Lords of War" on October 31st. HELLSPIKE is like a bastard son of Living Death's "Hellpike" song and the decay of humankind that is doomed to rot in Hell with its mendacious and evil deeds.»