Helsott are a melodic death metal band from Southern California. Established in 2010, they released a crowd funded full length record in 2013. One of the perks of crowdfunding was an option to have a song written by the band about you, this was purchased by a doctor (Hence the title) and the band liked it so much that they decided to write an entire E.P. around the track which became ‘The Healer’.
‘The Healer’ opens up the E.P, sporting riffs reminiscent of Svartsot framed by orchestration and punctuated with vocals somewhat unusual for folk metal. This song sounds like it would be at home around a Dungeons and Dragons table, lyrics are from the perspective of a healer who explains why he is important in battle and should not be dismissed. The guitar solo is the musical highlight of this track with interesting phrasing distracting from the rather repetitive nature of the song as a whole.
“Astralive” picks up the pace with guitars breathing some life and energy into the release via a more melodic and rhythmically varied approach. However once again the guitar solo is a prominent highlight of the track, sporting Steve Vai influenced flutters and dive bomb abuse.
The lowdown, if you’re a fan of melodic death metal with a heavy folk metal influence this may be for you. Overall a lot of potential, however repetition and rhythmically predictable vocal patterns hamstring an otherwise solid release.