Brazillian band Hellish War were formed in São Paulo in 1995, and released their debut album as long ago as 2001, but given that it took seven years for the second and only five years from there to the third maybe their workrate is increasing. They have also released a live album, which interestingly was recorded in Germany, as it is probably with bands such as Kretaor and Helloween that they have the most affinity although there is also more than obvious nod towards Iron Maiden and even Priest. But, and it is quite a large ‘but’, they aren’t nearly as good as any of them. While the guitarists know what they are doing, the singer isn’t quite there, and the songs aren’t at all memorable. It is probably the vocals that let the band down more than anything, as Bil Martins obviously thinks that he has a better range and control than he actually does, so consequently goes for notes that he doesn’t quite get.
If the songs were better they could get away with it, or if the vocals were top class it wouldn’t be so bad, but overall this is a band that I can’t ever imagine being anything more than a support act, and possibly if I had seen them in concert I might be intrigued enough to want to discover an album, but that would be all.
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