Every time that we get a chance to talk with James Rivera, we always have so much to talk about, as the gifted frontman never fails to enrich his resume with many yet substantial participations in various bands. Now, it was time to talk about his big love, his “child” as he likes to call his first (and most important) band Helstar. After all, it’s not a small deal to return after a 12-year recording-absence. Two hours before Rivera’s performance with Vicious Rumors we sat, ate and conversed about various things…Interview: Sakis Nikas and Louis Costopoulos

Rockpages.gr: You have a new album coming out that it’s called “Sins Of The Past”…

James Rivera: Yeah, what you’ll get is re-recorded versions of classic Helstar songs plus two brand new tracks.

Rockpages.gr: Tell us first about the two new songs. What’s their title and in what musical direction they revolve around?

James Rivera: “Tormentor” and “Caress Of The Dead” are the titles. As for their style…let’s see…If you take “Baptized In Blood” and “Conquest” you get a good picture of how the songs sound. But, it’s only natural now that Larry (Barragan) is back in the band and the Helstar roots are again evident on the two tracks. Basically, we carry on from where we stopped more than 15 years ago. Though, I must say that the songs and the new versions are heavier, darker…

Rockpages.gr: An updated version of Helstar…

James Rivera: Exactly, but it’s still 100% Helstar!

Rockpages.gr: Of course. James, how difficult it was for you to work again with Larry and Rob, taken into consideration the fact that they are into other musical fields with Eternity Black?

James Rivera: With Helstar…its’ one way! You can’t mix that style (of Eternity Black) with Helstar. They have a pretty good idea of how they should sound like with this band…like Lamb Of God or something, but Helstar is another story whatsoever with a huge legacy from the 80s.

Rockpages.gr: Have you listened to their demo songs?

James Rivera: Yeah. They were on tour with Vicious Rumors a while ago and I got the chance to listen to their songs. But, Larry with Helstar knows exactly how to write and he doesn’t want to change our trademark sound. As a matter of fact, “Caress Of The Dead” initially was so technical that Larry was thinking of keeping it as an instrumental song. One day as we were drinking in the studio and fooling around with the song, I started humming the melody for the chorus and all of the sudden he changed his mind. But, I think you get an idea of how technical the song is. Now that I think about it, on those two songs you can find some elements of the “Burning Star” record. There are some really intriguing parts in there…

Rockpages.gr: Mixed with the traditional Helstar sound…

James Rivera: That’s correct! But, this is Helstar that we are talking about…there’s got to be the traditional sound along with the more technical stuff. And there is also a lot of melody in the songs…so figure this out! In fact, it is a 15-year experience of singing, touring and recording after Helstar’s initial break up in the early 90s. Working with Vicious Rumors and being open with bigger and better ideas regarding melodies of a song. So, it’s kind of weird that the songs are heavier, darker and yet more melodic.

Rockpages.gr: How about the lyrics?

James Rivera: “Tormentor” was written by Larry and “Caress Of The Dead” was written by me and Larry came up with some bits here and there. Apart from the lyrics, the music was written by me and Larry.

Rockpages.gr: From my perspective, this collection of Helstar songs is like a test of the waters for the things that will come. Do you agree?

James Rivera: Exactly! In addition, the way we play the classic songs now are much different than we used to do 20 years ago. They sound heavier and they are played better. So, we sat down and said: “Let’s record the songs the way we play them live”! But, there’s nothing really different about it…I mean, if you listen to the songs of how we played them last year on our reunion show, you can’t really tell the difference with regards to the basic core of the tracks. But, one thing that is evident right away is the fact that they sound better from the album version, especially the ones from “Burning Star”. On the other hand, we didn’t want to disappoint the old fans, so we stayed true to the classic Helstar spirit but we gave them an up to date production. The other thing is that we are already working on our full studio album that it should be out in June. The label is really backing us up and helping us in every way that they can and we have signed a contract of a 4-record deal!

Rockpages.gr: That’s great news!

James Rivera: Yeah, I think so! It’s a good little job for a while!

Rockpages.gr: I remember a press release of yours when you quit Seven Witches and you were talking about a lack of motivation and a need to move forward in your career. Is the Vicious Rumors thing and the Helstar new deal what you were looking for?

James Rivera: Yes! No doubt about it! I am not talking about record sales…the sales are more or less the same. But, with Vicious Rumors we get to work and tour more and things are far more organized. As for Helstar…well, that’s my baby and now that the guys are back I couldn’t be happier!

Rockpages.gr: Do you think that your joining Vicious Rumors will help Helstar’s career or vice versa?

James Rivera: I think both. They will continue to move in parallel ways and help each other. Even Larry (Barragan) heard me sing in the last Vicious Rumors record and he said: “Damn, how come you didn’t sing that way with us”? And I said to him: “Larry, I was 20 years younger! That’s only natural” (laughs)!

Rockpages.gr: Whose idea it was to change a little bit the Helstar logo?

James Rivera: Mine and Larry’s. I was talking with this artist and we wanted to have a logo that it is more representative of Helstar’s heavier and darker direction, but not erase the past one. So I said to him: “Don’t change it, modify it”! Don’t get me wrong, I love the old logo and I love how it looks like and what it represents, but we wanted to state our new beginning without ruining the past. I think we did a hell of a good job and if we had a little more time we could have put in there the teeth of a saw…where the star is! It will be like saw-shaped star! Maybe, in the next album…

Rockpages.gr: How about Rob Trevino…Did he contribute any music to the new Helstar record?

James Rivera: Rob came up with some really cool melody ideas and he had some pretty clear ideas of how the chorus or the verse of a song should sound…he is really good at that.

Rockpages.gr: So, I take it for granted that you and Larry have patched up your past differences…

James Rivera: Of course!

Rockpages.gr: After the release of the collection, are you planning to tour for the promotion and support of the record?

James Rivera: What’s happening is that some promoters around Europe…Italy, Spain, France etc. want to bring Helstar to their festivals and we definitely want to be part of that. But, the thing is that Rob and Larry are leading their lives in a corporate system of 9 to 5 jobs. They have children and it is difficult to retain your full attention to Helstar. They would have done it, if the money was there. But, let’s face it: In metal the money is not there at least in the amount of abandoning your regular lifestyle. AFM suggested that we should do a tour with Destruction and one other big band from the past. I think that would be a killer co-headling tour. Helstar and Destruction together in one bill!  

Rockpages.gr: James, we are looking forward to the new album and a visit to Greece. Thank you!

James Rivera: Sakis, thank you for everything that you are doing for Helstar and me personally! We will definitely come to Greece and talk some more.