Album Review: Helion Prime - Terror Of The Cybernetic Space Monster

Power metal was my gateway into heavy music, but man has it become a stagnant genre. That's not to say it wasn't before, but after years of listening to it, I can rarely get excited anymore to hear new records that are so closely copying the old ones. There's a good chance you can put on any power metal record and hear a copy of "Eagle Fly Free", and a guarantee you're going to get stupid double-bass drumming while guitars chug a single chord. So in order to have an appeal, you need to do something different. For Helion Prime, that means taking the band in a sci-fi direction, and trying to tell stories about things other than swords and dragons.

Fitting with the sci-fi theme, the band's sound is in the more modern style of power metal, where the guitars have hints of melodic death metal riffing, the production is sharp and clean, and everything is just a hint darker. That's a style that I like, although I don't often hear it matched up with the kind of melodies that make power metal addictive at its best. I hold that particular banner to be Bloodbound's "Tabula Rasa", which is an interesting point of comparison here.

The path Helion Prime is taking is a record that is cut from a similar cloth, and it just so happens their singer can at times sound quite a bit like Urban breed. If a power metal band is trying to win its way into my cynical heart, that's not a bad place to start.

After the scene-setter, the first real song, "A King Is Born", delivers the goods. It's heavy, chunky, and hooky with a strong melodic presence. It's a nice mix of power metal with doses of heavier sub-genres, which is something it often sorely needs. When a record comes along that is able to master the art of that balance, as Bloodbound did, and as James LaBrie's songwriting partner has on their last couple of albums, the results are stunning. Both of those were albums that featured near the top of my year-end lists. I'll spare you the wait; no, Helion Prime isn't quite that good.

But this is a record that has a lot going for it. By and large, the songwriting is a notch above the usual power metal you're likely to hear. While there is a melody in "Urth" I know I've heard before, these songs sound fresh enough to remain enjoyable throughout. It also reminds me that if this record still feels fresh and modern, the first time I heard this particular sound must have been a mind-blowing revolution.

To close things out, the band stretches their wings with the seventeen minute title track. Like most every track of that length, there are twists and turns that are better than others, but the song returns to a core of melody that pays off the time invested.

Overall, Helion Prime has made a darn solid modern power metal record. I've heard enough of them to know it's not the easiest thing to pull off, so all credit where it's due.