marți, 17 iulie 2018

Heller - Heller (1989) + history









Heller is an extreme metal band formed in Belgrade, Yugoslavia(now Serbia) back in 1984. Their guitarist Attila played in a band called Dimenzija Smrti(Dimension of Death) before Heller. The band consisted, at the time of the 1st concert, of:
Zoća - vocals
Attila - guitar
Kole - guitar
Bičke - bass
Müller - drums

The material here will be reviewed chronologically rather than track-by-track. With history written by me with all the infos I have gathered so far(I appologize for the mistakes, where/if they're present!).




(From left to right: Müller, Deda, Attila and Kole. Heller in 1986(Attila was the vocalist back then))

"Inverzija"(Inversion) is more rooted in traditional metal, but a real headbanging track, its lyrics are dedicated to metal way of life: "Metal will never die/It will remain here to curse the people". I suppose it is the first track written, and the only one here to feature such lyrics. This track was called "Impossible(Metal is power)" on some bootlegs.
"Demonska devojka"(Demonic girl) was previously called "Innocent sacrifice for Sabbath" before it was translated in English.  This track is the most "worked" track on the album, as you can hear a variety of riffs and many tempo changes - if I should choose an anthem, this track must be it, even though all of them are strong.
"Armagedon" is a short track, but written in a similar manner as those mentioned above. It was called "Armageddon" before the translation as well.
"Dead or alive" is the only track that was never translated in Serbian. This track goes more into Teutonic territory, while mainting their own identity.
"Heller" is an instrumental track, but way faster than the rest of the tracks. If you ever get hold of their 1993 demo, there is a live version of this track from 1986. They played it even faster back then. The solo is a bit extended too, but it is missing the chainsaw-like ending part featured on LP.
"Krvava osveta"(Bloody revenge) starts with an acoustic intro, but don't be tricked by that as it soon turns into a monster. Žmegi's scream at the beginning of it is great, as it lasts around 12 seconds. This track was called "Black attack" before the translation.


At the same time, around 1987 I suppose, Kole and Deda left. Kole formed Amnesia, and later, Rapidforce. According to Metal-Archives, there were many people who joined and left the band, but by fall of 1987 the line-up was:
Žare - vocals
Attila - guitar
Dane - guitar
Čvora - bass
Müller - drums.
Žare's vocals were closer to the black/death metal. He had a very sinister voice, closer to what was happening in Brazilian circles rather than thrash/speed metal they were claiming to play.
Still, with Čvora's arrival, all the songs(except "Dead or Alive") underwent a translation process.
Žare, however, didn't stay much in the band, and at some point Žmegi became the new voice of Heller. So, let's continue

"Varvarska Horda"(Barbartic horde) has a slower tempo, but it is still a fast track. It is an interlude between their older tracks and the newer tracks, so to speak.
"Grob bez dna"(Bottomless grave) is a 2 minutes track, energetic and fun to listen to.
Inferno. Now we're talking. This track even goes on death metal territory...
Inkvizicija(Inquisition). ....and black metal...
Adam i Eva(Adam&Eve). ...and even grindcore.



Most of the tracks deal with lyrics such as death and all kind of macabre things, which were quite popular for that era.
As far as production goes, it is all very clear, the bass can be heard as well.
The artwork is quite original as well.



(From left to right: Dane, Čvora, Žmegi, Attila and Müller. Heller's line-up on the LP)

To sum up, you have your extreme metal history summed up in one LP. Highly recommended!

Review written by Necrotrooper

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