Album Review: Helvetets Port – From Life to Death (High Roller Records)

It’s been a while. Exodus To Hell, Helvetets Port’s debut album, was issued in 2009, the 12” EP ‘Man With The Chains’ a year later. Almost a decade on, Gothenburg’s finest are about to issue their second album, From Life To Death on High Roller Records.

Lead singer Witchfinder explains the long gap between the two records:

The last show before the hiatus was in December 2011, and then we got going again in 2014. So in reality the break wasn’t super long, even though it seems that way given the time between releases. The band was never officially over, but I guess we kind of needed a break and then a fresh start.

From Life To Death is out on the 23rd August 2019.

It’s a bit unusual to get such a lengthy album in modern times but then again, Helvetets Port heavy metal sound is hardly modern. 14 tracks of old-school, hair-raising and horn-throwing metal to head-bang too.

It’s very traditional sounding but don’t let that fool you, there is more to From Life to Death then you may initially think.

For starters, Helvetets Port infuse their metal with some unusual song structures that keep you on edge. You’re never fully sure just where the track might go next. It’s a hell of an adventure beginning with Stan Brinner and continuing into The Invincible and Röda Nejlikan. These two are slower and darker sounding numbers with the latter getting an injection of pace here and there to keep the energy up.

That same energy comes into play in Ruled With an Iron Hand before a bass hook that exudes coolness arrives in Hård Mot De Hårda. The rockier rhythm and high vocals excite and this one of the better moments of the album.

There are plenty more to be found though and credit to Helvetets Port, they keep this lengthy album constantly interesting. Take the club groove of White Diamond, the fist-pumping Hero of an Age and mellow melodies of Die to Stay Alive. A trio sitting in the middle of the album that offer variation on the band’s heavy metal sound.

It’s a really great album and in a true showcase of just how good it is, the 14 tracks just fly by.

Helvetets Port – From Life to Death Full Track Listing:

1. Stan Brinner
2. The Invincible
3. Röda Nejlikan
4. Ruled with an Iron Hand
5. Hård Mot De Hårda
6. Man-at-Arms
7. White Diamond
8. Hero of an Age
9. Die to Stay Alive
10. From Life to Death
11. Orions Bälte
12. Castle Walls, City Gates
13. Thunder Ace
14. Night of the Innocent

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