HELMS DEEP: Decibel Magazine Premieres Chasing The Dragon LP Title Track; New Album By US Heavy Metal Act Featuring Raven, Paul DiâAnnoâs Killers, Ice Age Members Out June 20th On Nameless Grave Records

May 12, 2025 Infrared Magazine Interviews, Music News, News, Press Releases 0

ââ¦a speedy power metal punch, with guitar acrobatics, a punchy chorus and relentless energy.” â Decibel Magazine

Decibel Magazine is hosting âChasing The Dragonâ by US traditional/power metal outfit HELMS DEEP, the title track to the bandâs second album, nearing release in June through Nameless Grave Records.

HELMS DEEP was formed in 2017 by guitarist and vocalist Alex Sciortino with the initial vision of forming a raw 1980s-style speed/power metal band with the ambiguity and atmosphere of prog and fusion. The project had been in the works for around five years before he linked up with drummer Mike Heller (Raven, Malignancy, ex-Fear Factory) and bassist John Gallagher (Raven) and got to work on the first HELMS DEEP album, Treacherous Ways. Following a brief, initial independent release on Bandcamp, the band was quickly discovered by Nameless Grave Records, who signed the band for an official release in 2023.

During the tracking of Treacherous Ways, Sciortino hit a jolt of inspiration and wrote eleven more songs for a follow-up album, which now arrives as the glorious odyssey titled Chasing The Dragon. Though the debut was lauded, and the project gained an international following, its follow-up would be created with a different focus. Sciortino enlisted drummer Hal Aponte (Ice Age) for a more organic and progressive feel and brought in his guitar teacher from his early years, Ray DeTone (Paul DiâAnnoâs Killers), on second guitar.

Chasing The Dragon was recorded in 3D, with DeTone on the left channel, and Sciortino on the right, with the massive Aponte and Gallagher rhythm section gluing it all together. Boasting the larger four-piece lineup with this recording setup, the second album presents a much more organic and live sound, which resulted in minimal editing and a focus on and capturing the personality and humanity in each memberâs performance. The album also features unorthodox folk instruments, with guests Liang Wu supplying erhu and Cliff Hackford supplying Tabla. Chasing The Dragon demonstrates an explosive and intriguing metamorphosis of HELMS DEEP.

Co-produced by Ray DeTone and Alex Sciortino, re-amped by Lasse Lammert and Detone with DeTone handling the mixing at Dancetone Music Studio, Chasing The Dragon was mastered by Andy Van Dette (Deep Purple, Bruce Dickinson, Fates Warning, Girlschool, Rush, Savatage), and the cover art was handled by nine-time Hugo Award-winning artist Bob Eggleton. The result is an eclectic and raw blend of power and speed metal with elements of prog and fusion fans of Savatage, Raven, Crimson Glory, and Satan will not want to miss.

With the title trackâs deployment into the public sphere, Sciortino reveals, ââChasing The Dragonâ was dubbed the title track since the writing and recording of the album was completed in the Chinese Year Of The Dragon (coincidentally, or fate?) and we went with that as the theme for the album. Itâs a good showcase of the bandâs speed with some interesting subtle elements in the intro, like soprano guitar â which you donât hear often in metal â which sounds kind of like a harp. It was chosen as a single because itâs one of the catchier, more concise songs on there, where others are longer and a bit proggier.â

Decibel writes, âFlorida power/trad metal outfit HELMS DEEP had us at ‘bassist John Gallagher’… if Raven vocalist/bassist Gallagher is involved, weâre already there,â noting how the new song, “offers a speedy power metal punch, with guitar acrobatics, a punchy chorus and relentless energy.”

HELMS DEEPâs âChasing The Dragonâ is now streaming exclusively at Decibel Magazine RIGHT HERE.

Chasing The Dragon will be released on 2xLP with silkscreened D-side, CD, and digital formats on June 20th. Find preorders at the Nameless Grave webshop HERE and Bandcamp where âFlight Of The Harpyâ is streaming HERE.