Interview with HELSTAR

Questions by Tomek/Nevermore, from Pure Metal Magazine

Answers by: Rob Trevino (guitars)

 

Pure Metal: Hi Rob! It’s Tomek from the Pure Metal Magazine from Poland. It’s our second meeting, we already had an opportunity to talk in 2007, when you gave the first interview for our magazine. Let me ask you then about some of the most recent things, your albums and some stuff from the distant past, but only those that we didn’t tackle in the last interview.
How was the European tour? Where did the people react to you the best?

Rob Trevino: The tour was a blast! It was a nice change to travel on the bus as opposed to the Sprinter, though it did get LOUD at times! Haha! We had very good response at many of the shows. Some which stand out are Essen, Terneuzen, Berlin, Bremen, and Milan, but the most humbling experience for all of us was Istanbul. We had fans with tears in their eyes as we played Winds of War. It was a very moving moment for us and we were honored to be there to play for them.

PM: Is the DVD ‘30 Years of Hel’ the fulfillment of your deal with AFM Records?
Rob: No, we still have one more studio album to record for them.

PM: Do you have a new deal with them already? If yes, then for how many albums?
Rob: No. Right now, we’re just trying to fulfill our existing contractual obligation to them. Once we do that, we’ll see what lies ahead…

PM: What criteria did you follow while choosing the songs for your DVD? Obviously you chose some of your greatest hits, but on the other hand some songs come as a surprise...
Rob: Well, yes, we had to choose the ‘standards’, but for the fans we wanted to also play some songs which we never have since coming back in 2006. We think that has made our set more interesting. Hopefully, the fans agree!

PM: There are some surprises among your song selection for the DVD. A great one for me is ‘Towards the Unknown’ from the debut instead of the expected ‘Dracula’s Castle’, then ‘Good Day to Die’ from James’ not-so-favorite ‘Multiples of Black’!
Rob: Yes, exactly, that was our point. Though Drac is a great song, we wanted something we never play, so we threw in Towards the Unknown – of course, now it’s in our current set and so is Good Day to Die. In fact, Good Day to Die goes over really well live. It became something our support bands would shout out loud each night while partying on the bus traveling to the next city! Someone, would sing the phrase, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…” and then the entire bus would erupt with, “IT’S A GOOD,,,, DAY,,, TO DIE!!!” Laughter would ensue and then it would start all over again and on and on and on! It was hilarious!

PM: While on the topic of unexpected songs - why doesn’t the DVD comprise ‘Black Silhouetthe Skies’?
Rob: Because it wasn’t considered a ‘Helstar’ song and no one from this lineup wrote it.

PM: Why aren’t you some of your great songs, such as ‘The Garden of Temptation’, ‘Tormentor’ or ‘Summer of Hate’ nowadays?
Rob: Well, it just came down to songs we knew we had to perform and the ones we wanted to add! We played so long, our hands were cramping! But in all honesty, there just wasn’t enough time to include more. Garden of Temptation is 9 minutes long by itself! Who knows, maybe we’ll have another opportunity to record a live DVD and we’ll add those to the list… Actually, if memory serves me correctly, Summer of Hate is on the DVD as an added bonus from our London gig back in 2011, though that was a fan filmed video and so the quality is not as it is for the main feature. When filming a high definition video, there are a lot of technical details to sort out and fitting everything onto one DVD is one of them! We just could not have made it longer without having to add yet another DVD to fit it all, nor did we feel it was really necessary.

PM: You chose not to open your live performances with an intro. I know this isn’t much like you, but in this case I think you could use a little exception to that rule, and you do have some songs in your catalogue that could serve this function?
Rob: Actually, we do use intros. Only sometimes, such as technical reasons or we’re in a rush to start our set on time, do we not use one. In fact, we typically have several intros during the course of a concert. We used an intro for the live DVD, but only part of it was used on the DVD. I have not listened to the audio CD yet, so I don’t know if it got edited down…

PM: The CD is also lacking intro. The concert for the DVD was filmed in Houston. Why a medium-sized club? Did you want to capture the typically club-performance atmosphere?
Rob: Actually, that is a large club, which holds about 1200 people in the main room and another 300 in the smaller room. I want to say we had right at about 1000 people in attendance that night. It has a large stage and good production. Those were the primary reasons; we wanted to have our full stage production and that club met our requirements. We were actually afraid we would not have enough people in there, but as you can see from the video, that was not the case!

PM: Rob, how do you feel while playing such intense songs as ‘To Sleep per Chance to Scream’ or ‘Harker’s Tale’ that you didn’t co-write?
Rob: I love it, but that’s nothing new. When I joined the band in 1985, I had to play songs I had not written or co-written and some of what we played on Remnants of War is very technical and hard to play, think Face the Wicked One and Destroyer… I don’t even think about it as such. They are Helstar songs, first and foremost, and I was a fan long before I joined and even after I left the first time, so no big deal for me to play them.

PM: I like James’ vocals from the live DVD, he moves fluidly from clean singing to the dark, black-metal esque singing, even in the songs where this vocal style is absent in the studio version, i.e. ‘Evil Reign’.
Rob: I agree and you make a good point; that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to do the live DVD / CD. It is because we’ve always felt that we are our strongest and heaviest live. It’s not that we don’t sound good on the studio releases, but I think we’re just a better live band; at least in the sense of how we come across and the attitude we bring to each show and so we wanted all of our fans worldwide to be able to experience that. I think we did a good job of capturing the electricity of a Helstar concert.

PM: Who in Helstar decides about the song selection for setlists? Do you solve this democratically, or is it an one-sided decision?
Rob: Typically, James, Larry and I do, but if someone else has a suggestion, we listen. We’re pretty much a democracy; it’s just that the three of us typically spend more time on that kind of stuff than Jerry or Mikey.

PM: Apart from the European tour and the US gigs, are you planning on celebrating your beautiful anniversary in any other way?
Rob: Nah, I don’t think so. The release is the real celebration. Now, we move forward to the next chapter!

PM: During the last Europe tour in September, did you play all 20 songs that comprise your DVD?
Rob: No, at some of the shows we only had 60 minute slots, so we had to trim the set considerably. Generally speaking, our full headlining set was 90 minutes. It’s really hard to keep people engaged much longer than that.

PM: Your live DVD is a great gift for your fans. And what did they give you in turn? I guess the label gave you a new deal, but what about your followers? Do you have an official fanclub in Germany or Greece?

Rob: They came out and supported us and continue to support us from afar. We do not have an official fan club… Hmmm, perhaps we need to establish one or more! Anyone out there interested?!

PM: Mike Lewis replaced Russell De Leon in February 2010. What was the reason?
Rob: I’d rather not get into the specifics, but it was just time for the band and Russell to go separate ways. It was all business related. We still love him and he will always be a part of the family, but I think he’s much happier now not having to juggle work, family and the band. A lot of people don’t realize just how much effort it takes to sustain a band, especially once you’ve gotten to our age and have a lot of other priorities to juggle.

PM: How would you compare those two guys’ styles?
Rob: Russell and Mikey are very different. They are both great drummers, but for what we do now, Mikey is perfect. Russell is more of what I would consider a traditional hard rock / metal drummer while Mikey can play anything and he loves thrash. Mikey grew up listening to Helstar, but also, Metallica, Anthrax, Exodus, and Slayer. He played in a thrash band back in the late 80s and so he knows what is required to give this music the attitude it needs. I don’t want to say we forced Russell to play thrash beats, but we led him to play them. They did not come naturally for him whereas they do for Mikey.

PM: After a battle with his illness, Jerry Abarca returned to the band. So, the family’s back together, init? Any details on his illness? Is everything all right with him now?
Rob: Yes, we’re very blessed to have G-frog with us again! I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to speak on his behalf with regards to his current condition, however, he’s certainly ‘maintaining’ his health according to his doctor’s orders and it is an ongoing process. You may have heard, he did get sick early on at the start of this tour and had to be hospitalized for a day... This was due to the airlines delaying our luggage which had the majority of his medicine in it. Once we he got what he needed, he was fine the rest of the tour. Obviously, he’ll be carrying at least a week’s supply with him onboard next time around!

PM: The Slovenian bassist, Matej Susnik, substituted for Jerry on your European tour promoting ‘Glory of Chaos’. How good did he do?
Rob: Matej is our Slovenian brother or should I say more like our Slovenian son! Haha. We love that kid! He stepped up to the plate, not once, but twice, and hit it out of the park for us. We are forever grateful to him for helping us out on those two tours.

PM: What is your creative input on ‘The King of Hell’ and ‘Glory of Chaos’ albums? I take it you shared the soloing part with Larry?
Rob: On those two albums, Larry and I wrote about 50% of the music each. Most songs were collaboration between us; there are perhaps one or two songs per album where one guy wrote 100% of the music for those particular songs, but for the most part, we’re contributing equally. Now, as far as lyrics are concerned, that’s Larry and James 100%. I can’t write lyrics to save my life! I’d love to study that more and try it out someday… As for solos, those are pretty equally split between Larry and me as well.

PM: Which album do you have a bigger sentiment for?
Rob: I am assuming you mean between The King of Hell and Glory of Chaos, correct?

PM: Yes...

Rob: Neither; they both have a special place in my heart. At the time we wrote and released each one, I felt like, “This is the best Helstar record EVER!” Looking back, they are both strong in their own way as are the other releases…

PM: Whose idea was it to cover Scorpions’ ‘Animal Magnetism’? Why that song?
Rob: That was Larry’s idea. I think he just thought it was heavy and wanted something that he thought we could make even heavier! 

PM: How do you feel playing the brutal and intense piece of music that is ‘Alma Negra’?
Rob: When we’re in the pocket on that one, there is no greater feeling! It has many different elements to it and again, when we’re in sync and hitting on all cylinders, it is a very powerful song. We all get big grins when that happens!

PM: Why did you use some of the Eternity Black material on Helstar’s ‘Glory of Chaos’? Is Eternity Black still functioning?

Rob: Well, we just felt like those songs, the music anyway, deserved to be heard by a larger audience. We always knew the material was strong; we just needed the other components to execute it properly. EB is still on hiatus indefinitely, though, who knows what Larry and I will do in the future... I still have the backdrop rolled up neatly in its tube at my house! Of course, we would not have the same members as before and we’d have to come up with all new material. I just don’t know that we really need to resurrect that band since Helstar keeps us busy.

PM: Rob, how is that... in 2007 you told us in the interview that Eternity Black shows Larry’s and yours thrashier side and that you ‘started playing in that project to sound different than Helstar, so as to keep Helstar’s legacy immaculate’. How does that statement hold with ‘Glory of Chaos’? It’s a thrash album after all, it doesn’t follow Helstar’s legacy :)))

Rob: Well, we all change, right? If you listen to each Helstar release, they are all different. We like to think that, as a band, we’re continually evolving… To answer your question though, at the time, we did not think that we could steer Helstar in the same direction as EB. However, James identifies Helstar, so when we started re-arranging the material to potentially use it for a Helstar album and especially when we heard him singing to it, it just made sense. He’s such a versatile vocalist that it just worked.

PM: Something from the distant past. What band did you start your career in? Was it Minotaur?

Rob: Minotaur was my first band, though that band started out as RAIGE, pronounced RAGE. I guess we thought we needed an ‘I’ in there to make a statement, haha! We were all kids. I started that band, along with Rene Luna, at 14.

PM: What kind of music did Minotaur play? What has the band achieved?

Rob: We were old school Maiden and Priest wannabes. We only recorded a demo and played some local Houston shows. I guess our highest achievement was opening for Slayer when they came to Houston on the Haunting the Chapel tour. 

PM: It’s thanks to Larry Barragan that you’re part of Helstar. You knew each other from junior high. Do you remember how did he convince you to join Helstar?
Rob: Well, there was no convincing me to join! I probably would have signed the proverbial deal with the Devil to have that opportunity. Actually, Larry and I grew up about 2 miles from one another, but he was older and we never attended the same school at the same time. It just so happened that we played a lot of the same places and knew a lot of the same people. I want to say that we even played one or two shows with them. At any rate, the story goes like this: Larry had briefly quit Helstar sometime after Burning Star was released. One day he called me up and asked me to audition for his new band, Betrayer. Being the aspiring musician that I was at the ripe old age of 17, I skipped school one day and walked to his house with my trusty Gibson Explorer in hand. I spent the entire day at his house learning Angel of Death and Destroyer and I also met Gerry that day. I went home that evening and didn’t hear anything from him… About a month later, I heard that Larry had re-joined Helstar and brought Jerry with him. At the time, I thought, “Well, there goes that idea…” Another month goes by and then he calls me again and asks me if I want to play in Helstar for one show in San Antonio. Obviously, I said yes thinking that this was it; certainly they’d offer me the spot after the show, right? So I spent the next two weeks learning 9 or 10 songs for this one-off show with them. It came and went. I had a blast, played to a sold out show, made $100, felt like a rock star, and then went back to my reality of school and my ‘real’ band the next Monday. Again, I heard nothing for about another month. I was losing all hope of being asked to join full time, and then, BAM, I got the call. It’s a good thing, because it was really hard going back to Minotaur after playing with Helstar. It just did not feel the same as before and I had suddenly realized that something would have to change if I wanted to get farther in this business. And everything you read or hear about these once in a lifetime opportunities are so true; when you experience something special, when you are part of it, you just know it. You feel it deep inside and it moves and inspires you to succeed. When that goes away, it’s very hard to get that feeling again and for many people, it just doesn’t happen… ever. Fortunately, it did for me and here I am 27 years later doing this interview.

PM: In July 1985 you recorded ‘Remnants of War’ with the help of Randy Burns in Mad Dog Studio in Venice, near LA. How do you recall the recording session was - was it your first professional one?
Rob: Well, it certainly was my first session paid for by a record label! I had some experience in a real studio prior, but this was more involved and we actually did a bit of pre-production prior to going in to lay scratch tracks and drums. Randy was, in my opinion, a great metal producer. He didn’t just engineer, he provided input and helped us with some arrangements as well.

PM: I heard you arrived there at your own expense in Larry’s van?
Rob: Correct! We were so naïve to the business side of things that we just assumed that was what we had to do. We knew our budget, but to us, that was something the producer and label controlled and not something we should have a say in. Had we known better, we would have said, “Hey, if we’re going to do this in LA, you’re going to need to allow for travel and lodging for us to get there, have a place to stay, and eat.”

PM: Do you remember what kind of a relationship did you have with the Anthrax guys during the March 1986 Texas tour?
Rob: We got along great and became friends. Back then, they didn’t really party, so we were the ones drunk or stoned night after night! There was one night in San Antonio that they cut loose a little and we had a party back at their hotel and drank some beers. The rest of the time, it was good, clean, fun having Uzi water gun fights, pies in the face onstage, etc. Good times!

PM: Did you get to meet the young and angry Dave Mustaine? You toured with Megadeth in October 1986.

Rob: Yes, we met Dave while on the Remnants of War tour. We opened for them in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That was the first time anyone told us that this was our job and that if we didn’t demand certain things, the labels certainly wouldn’t give us anything. That was our first indication that we had screwed up on our recording and publishing negotiations! At any rate, that first night we were playing in this gymnasium which had a bar beneath it. At that point in our career, we had NEVER drunk a drop of alcohol before hitting the stage… Needless to say, that changed that night!

PM: You weren’t happy with Combat Records, so you ended the deal with them. Was it hard to get signed with Metal Blade?

Rob: I don’t know if we ended it or they decided against renewing our option, but yeah, we weren’t happy, especially after seeing how things should work. Regardless, we knew Metal Blade was interested in us and at the time, they seemed to be the next best thing to Megaforce, so we went with them. We did have to ‘audition’ for the label. Brian Slagel and Mike Faley (our ex-manager who had recently taken the label manager job at Metal Blade) flew down from LA to attend one of our shows in Houston. After that, it was pretty much a done deal, initially anyway. I think there was a bit of apprehension to sign the band when Rene and I quit, but it wasn’t because we couldn’t be replaced; the label was probably just thinking, “Another lineup change? What the hell is going on with this band?” Sorry guys!!

PM: Rob, in the previous interview you described your departure from Helstar in great detail. Yet you followed them, you knew they recorded two very good albums. What did you feel, were you mad at yourself that the band succeeded without you?

Rob: I was disappointed and yes, to an extent, mad with myself. It really hit home when I saw them go to Europe for the first time in 1988. That was something we had all wanted when Remnants came out. Again, being naïve we did not push to accomplish that and I really think that things would have gone differently for us had we toured overseas in support of that release. You have to consider that, Remnants was charting in the German Heavy list in the top 10 and magazines were giving glowing reviews. Metal Forces in the UK gave us a 10 out of 10 rating. Things were really looking up for us. The production was much better than Burning Star and the fans really took to it, but for whatever reason, we did not make it to Europe to support it. That really sucks because, with the exception of James, none of us had a real job at the time. Shit, we could have toured for months over there! We could have relocated!

PM: Do you have any funny anecdotes to share from Helstar’s 30-year history?

Rob: There are a ton of memories. One of the funniest is the time in Cleveland where we caught a guy climbing up the balconies and peeping into people’s rooms. We were all stoned and some of us had just returned from a Wendy O show that night and one of our crew guys runs into my room as I am munching on some candy bar and says, “Dude, there’s some guy climbing the balconies and peeping into people’s rooms!” We were like, “Yeah right…” Anyway, we went out onto our balcony and sure enough, there he was, just like Spiderman! We shouted at the guy that we were going to kick his ass! He freaked and within 10 seconds had scaled down and was off running in the snow, jumping a fence which led into a cemetery. We bolted for the stairwell to try and catch him, but it was too late, he was gone. I don’t think we would have actually hurt him as opposed to just hold him until the police showed up… At any rate, when they did, here we are, again, all of us stoned and drunk, trying to give statements and I am sure our eyes were blood red. We were so lucky the officer was pretty young and wasn’t concerned with stoned long-haired musicians as much as the peeping Tom, who as it turned out, was a ‘John’ who’s fantasy, was to act like he was breaking into a room and raping some helpless girl. Needless to say, we ruined his evening as well as the hooker he was trying to get it on with!

PM: What are the six most important happenings in Helstar’s history?

Rob: Off the top of my head, I’d say:

Larry showing up at James’s house unannounced, introducing himself and saying, “You need to quit your band and join mine.”

The Burning Star demo landing into the hands of Hans Haedelt

Getting signed to Combat records

The first European tour in 1988

The 2006 reunion show

Celebrating the 30^th anniversary with our first ever live DVD / CD

PM: Six most important songs in Helstar’s catalogue?

Rob: You’d have to ask our fans that. I will say that our ‘Freebird’ is Run with the Pack, followed closely by several others.

PM: Three worst things that ever happened to the band?

Rob: That’s impossible to pin down to three specific events… I would say that overall, the worst thing to happen to this band was a combination of bad business decisions coupled with too many lineup changes. The band never held one lineup together long enough to capitalize on the momentum that the albums were generating, so it was like starting over each time. As an example, take into consideration that we recorded Remnants of War in July and August of 1985 and delivered it to the label for mastering probably no later than September of that year. The album was not even released until MID-JUNE of 1986!!! Nine fucking months!? Are you kidding me? What the fuck? Talk about a momentum killer, but even then, when that album was released, it was critically acclaimed and sold well. It is a shame that we did not take care of business effectively by capitalizing on a strong release and at the same time follow up on the management and label side of things to make sure that we were ready to hit the studio right after the tour. I really do think that would have made a world of difference in that lineup staying intact, at least for me it would have.

PM: Do you regret any decisions made during your career with Helstar?
Rob: Concerning my career with Helstar, yes, I should not have left the band in 1987. At the same time, I have to say that I don’t really regret it on a personal level because I have a great life and don’t know where I’d be had I stayed. There were things I was forced to do when I left the band which shaped me as an adult and also helped me to get to where I am today in my personal life. It’s more of a, “I wonder what would have happened if…” situation.

PM: Do you have any unfulfilled dreams career-wise?

Rob: No, not really. Sure, I would love to make music my fulltime profession, but I’d have to be able to continue to support my family in the means to which they are accustomed. We’re by no means rich, but we have a great life and being a good father and provider is the single most important thing in my life right now.

PM: Do you, as a band, feel like metal scene veterans?

Rob: Yeah, I think so… We were there in the beginning with all of the others, starting in 1982 and lasting through that decade and the early part of the 90s with those first four releases. And of course, James continued to fly the Helstar flag in one way or another, but the key here is that we finally reunited in 2006 and we’re still here today. Sure, we had a drummer switch, but honestly, it only made us better and the nucleus of the Remnants lineup is intact after 6+ years.

PM: How long do you think you will keep on playing? Did you ever ponder that question?
Rob: Personally, I will never stop playing my guitar. I never have. I slowed down and got a bit rusty, but I always had six strings near me. As for the band, well; only time will tell. Right now, we all feel really good and still have a drive to keep going. We still feel like we have our best album in us… I know that is cliché, but it’s true. That kind of question is really hard to answer and I now know why all of my heroes still play – it’s just so hard to give it up. You don’t mind slowing down, but to give it all up is very hard to do.

PM: It’s been almost 2 years since your last studio album. There are surely new songs in the working? How intense do you plan on getting this time?

Rob: I don’t think we’ll be any more intense – I mean, just listen to Alma Negra. I don’t think we’ll get more extreme, but I’m sure we’ll get as extreme as we have. We don’t have to prove how heavy we can get. It’s more about the quality of the songs than heaviness.
 

PM: Can you say something about the new album and Helstar’s direction already? Will we get to hear another thrash album?
Rob: I think it is safe to say that yes, you will hear more thrash from us. However, I don’t want to say that the entire album will be thrash. I think we’re going to try to incorporate those elements of thrash and mix them with some of the technical riffing we’re known for. You’ll have to wait and see!

PM: Rob - how long have you been playing Jacksons and why this particular model? Larry also plays Jacksons. You’re pretty happy with the brand, I take it?

Rob: Ever since Larry owned his original Jackson back in 84, I’ve wanted one. I did own a Charvel in the 80s that I loved and so when I heard that Jackson was getting back into signing metal guys, and not just the guys in big bands, but underground axe slingers, it peaked my interest. We reached out to them and the artist relations guy at the time, Chris Cannella, was already a fan of the band. He was more than happy to welcome us to the family. I can’t say enough good things about him and everyone at Jackson, EVH, and the entire Fender family we’ve worked with. They’ve supported our tours and for that, we are proud to play their gear.

PM: You probably don’t play for a living... so what do you do normally?

Rob: I work in Information Technology as a project manager. I’ve been in IT for about 19 years now.
 

PM: Thanks for your time and the interview! I’m waiting impatiently for Helstar’s next album.

Rob: Thank you and thank you to our fans out there reading this! I hope this interview is a good read! We promise to deliver the absolute best album we are capable of. Look for it sometime late next year!