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Helion Prime: Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster


I know the album title might have a few scratching their heads but that ends very quickly with the opening vocals of newcomer Sozos Michael who is an astounding talent. Hints of early Dream Theater weave in and out of the second track “A King is Born” but Helion Prime takes over with an extraordinary blend of progressive metal and symphonic accompaniment that sets a place for their incredible lead singer who could sing off the words on the back of a toothpaste box and sound sincere. It’s the perfect song and tone to set forward the conceptual effort.

In “Atlas Obscura” there is a both a vocal reference and a musical influence of Jethro Tull mixed with melodic metal. An unexpected experience I must say because it has such a dramatic impact along with searing guitar work to create an otherworldly fantastic world. “Urth” is a power metal number with flashes of Helloween and UDO again displays the incredible versatility of the band proper and the vocalist who continues to be amazing in everything he does.

The thought of combining science fiction and science fact into a metal album is not only an intriguing proposition; it’s exciting reality when the concept holds major water in a collection of songs that stayed away from strange-voiced narration and creepy galactic synth tones and stuck to the song writing. “Spectrum” is an excellent example of not veering into weirdness towards the latter part of the album and just play your hearts out. By the way, the drumming on this track is worthy of its own review. Rich and thoroughly rewarding.

The final track “Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster” is a seventeen-minute epic of mega-metal proportions. The singer literally sounds like Freddy Mercury blended with Bruce Dickinson. This is truly the most interesting vocal I have heard this year. The lyrics move the space monster concept nicely with Shakespearean calls for battle backed by the blessings of God. The few tracks I have heard in this length usually detour to sound effects and hokey hymns but Helion Prime halfway through this epic remains vital and carries the music and mayhem and switches gears to Motorhead and Metallica-flavored head-banging which elevates the mood--taking the listener to the next level. This might be Helion Prime’s sophomore release but they have arrived.

See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!


Track List:
1 Hypothesis 2:06
2 A King Is Born 5:39
3 Bury The Sun 4:24
4 Atlas Obscura 5:53
5 Urth 4:53
6 The Human Condition 8:16
7 Spectrum 5:32
8 Silent Skies 5:11
9 Terror Of The Cybernetic Space Monster 17:16

Added: September 9th 2018
Reviewer: Mark Antony Rossi
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 1461
Language: english

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Helion Prime: Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster
Posted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2018-09-09 12:52:15
My Score:

Terror of the Cybernetic Space Monster is the sophomore album from US power metal act Helion Prime, another science fiction themed platter that also sees new vocalist Sozos Michael making his recorded debut with the band. Nothing overly groundbreaking happening here, but with excellent production and spirited performances from everyone all around, any fan of Helloween, Orden Ogan, Blind Guardian, and Bloodbound will certainly find lots to sink their teeth into here. Tracks like "Atlas Obscura", "Urth", "A King is Born", and the super crunchy "The Human Condition" contain a wealth of power chord riffing, blazing lead guitar solos, and high pitched vocal histrionics. Helion Prime even throw in a 17-minute epic in the form of the closing title track, which puts together Queen styled bombast with potent Dream Theater/Symphony X influenced progressive metal.

While I don't think Helion Prime are setting any bars for originality, they do what they do quite well, this latest album sounding as good as any power metal release I've heard in recent years, containing fantastic playing & singing, and a cool concept. Nice job!



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