HELKER – Somewhere In The Circle [Digipak] (2013)

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It has been said many times, Rock music has no boundaries. In the last ten years or so, there have been many bands from South America booked by European and American labels due its quality.
HELKER from Argentina are feverishly playing since 1998 mainly oriented to their own local scene publishing three albums with Spanish lyrics, but this year, Europe came out heeding the call and the band signed with German AFM Records for the release of the band’s first record in English entitled “Somewhere In The Circle”, produced and written alongside Mat Sinner with the mixing hands of renowned Achim Kohler.

HELKER’s style is a mix of traditional European hard ‘n heavy with modern melodic metal acts; imagine the likes of Primal Fear, post-’80s Sinner, DIO, and some earlier Accept blended into their core.
The involvement of Mat Sinner in the songwriting process has given to the material in “Somewhere In The Circle” a clear Primal Fear similarity. Just listen to tunes like “Still Alive” or “Inside Of Me” and you’ll know what I mean.
But the sharp twin guitar riffs, the harmonies, the fat bass / pounding drums and the melodic soaring vocals are so well developed by Helker that they truly deserve a remarkable credit.

The sound is huge in this album, and the mix does justice to all the players. The guitar riffs dominate each song yet what really makes them distinctive are the killer vocals of Diego Valdez.
A passionate and energetic singer, Valdez has a brilliant range and so much force in his near-perfect delivery. Absolutely accent-free and with a tone crossing Ronnie James Dio and Jorn Lande (this is not exaggerated, believe me) Diego has an infectious melodic style where he can reach the high notes with strength and conviction.

The hard ‘n heavy tracks flow thick and fast on “Somewhere In The Circle”, including the powerful opening track “Modern Roman Circus” – which sets the scene and high quality for the remainder of the album- and the mid-high tempo rocking track “No Chance To Be Reborn”, with wailing, chunky and deep guitar riffs and a masterful and emotional vocal performance by the talented Valdez.
This Helker’s first international release features stellar guest appearances by
Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear) and Ripper Owens (Yngwie, Judas), both featured on the slower but kickin’ track called “Begging For Forgiveness” showcasing all three singers together in a great vocal battle. There are some quite eerie vocal melodies present in this song that sent chills down my spine.

Other instant winner tracks include the pounding and Sinner-esque “Still Alive” containing a simple but highly effective beat/riff combo with heavy bass guitar and a catchy sing-a-long chorus, and the Primal Fear sounding “Inside of Me” again with a memorable chorus and a razor twin guitar attack between Mariano Rios and Leo Aristu.
“Flying” is the album’s ballad, focusing on acoustic guitar and the heavenly vocal presence plus layered choir-like melodies. Bringing on a life-like feeling to the song’s title and theme this is one of my favorite songs on the album. The emotion is hard to ignore and I can truly feel the song to my core.

“Just Be Yourself” is the most melodic song on the album, a high-octane track with furious guitar riffs, a very catchy chorus and Valdez showing just how good of a singer he is with a brilliant performance.
Bonus track (digipak) “Dreams” bring the album to its close in a catchy way, featuring a fun and moving riff above the background music which makes you want to get up and dance. As the album ends, it is just as strong as the album’s introduction.

With “Somewhere In the Circle” Helker has seriously delivered us with one hell of an album. A relatively unknown name in the international scene, but this release is bound to bump them up the ranks into the ears of hard ‘n heavy fans everywhere.
There’s nothing ground-breaking here, Helker just wants to rock you hard in the old fashioned style via really well written songs with a dynamic and bombastic feel: catchy heavy riffs and melodies. Special mention goes to singer Diego Valdez. His voice sound great in all ranges, from high to low tones. If you’ve seen the latest Tarja DVD, he’s the guy that sings ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ with her.

So now being on a big label like AFM, I expect Helker to really take off on a world-wide stage with this solid, impressive CD.
Recommended.

01 – Modern Roman Circus
02 – Just Be Yourself
03 – No Chance To Be Reborn
04 – Begging For Forgiveness
05 – Wake Up
06 – At The End Of The Journey (feat Scheepers & Owens)
07 – Ghosts From The Past
08 – Still Alive
09 – Flying
10 – Inside Of Me
11 – Dreams (bonus track)

Diego Valdez – Vocals
Mariano Rios – Guitar
Leo Aristu – Guitar
Christian Abarca – Bass
Hernan Coronel – Drums
Ralf Scheepers & Tim Ripper Owens – guest Vocals

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