Band: HELSOTT
Country: USA
Title: Slaves and Gods
Label: M-Theory
Year: 2018
Style: Pagan Metal

Review:
American vikings are a reality and here's Helsott, a Viking / Pagan Metal band from California bringing back to the light stories about Scandinavian folklore, and with the aid of a lot of guests (from Arkona, Elvenking, TrollfesT or Equilibrium among others) this second studio album sounds like a material that took forever to get alltogether. 10 tracks, a bit over 45 minutes of playing time, compositions that range from Epic Power Metal to Melodic Death, Viking and even Melodic Black Metal, yet the core remains what we can call Pagan Metal. The compositions are both accessible to a wider range of listeners, but at the same time they are quite aggressive and with plenty of brutality to accommodate even the angriest fans of the genre and the variety you'll find here will certainly keep you glued to the album from start to finish if you're into this genre obviously. Usually the atmosphere is quite bright and serene with a slight atmospheric, dark veil to it, but here and there that darkness becomes more dense. Because of the various and varied guests there's plenty of diversity on this album, although the main vocals of Eric Dow keep things glued and coagulated, but I don't know how the listeners will relate to such an album where the band is hidden as importance behind the prestige of its guests. Anyway, all in all Helsott offers a wide material you should take your time for at least a complete audition before making your mind.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10

Contact:
helsott.com
facebook.com/salemrosemusic