Houston's premier heavy metal festival, Hell's Heroes returned to the White Oak Music Hall. Hell's Heroes is the brainchild of promoter/musician Christian Larson and this was the festivals seventh edition. What started as a one day fest has grown into a full three days, a pre-party and nightly after parties. The venue featured two stages, a huge outdoor stage and a good sized indoor stage. There was some overrun on the set times so while there was no way to catch every minute of every set, they were staggered enough that if you really wanted to you could catch some of every band.


Musically, the fest had something for everyone as many different genres of metal were represented. Traditional, thrash, speed, death, black, 80's and more were all represented. If whoever was playing the outdoor and indoor stages at the moment wasn't your thing, there was also a metal marketplace where you could shop for albums, shirts, banners, patches, jewelry and anything else a metalhead could want. There were several food trucks so you could take a break and get something to eat, full bars for drinks and huge free water coolers so you could keep hydrated. And if you kept your eyes open, many of the musicians that played the fest could be seen walking the festival grounds interacting with fans looking for photos and autographs. Overall, the fest ran very smoothly. Unfortunately there were a couple of last minute cancellations, but other bands stepped up and played a second set to fill in their slot.


For some fans the fest started a day early with the pre-party. The show was headlined by metal veterans Riot and featured sets from Liege Lord and Houston's own Hellstar among others. 


Day one saw a diverse lineup that featured sets from Savage Master, Castle Rat, Attacker, Bewitcher, Hirax, D.R.I., veteran thrash metalers Raven and the night's headliner black metal icon, Abbath doing a set of Immortal classics. Unfortunately visa issues caused the cancellation of the band many were most looking forward to in Warlord. Omen played a special Battle Cry set in their place. 


The highlight of the day saw the return of the classic heavy metal band Fifth Angel. Back in the 80's they put out two killer albums and then just disappeared. The band has reunited with three fifths of the classic lineup and released a great new album called When Angels Kill. Their new vocalist Steve Carlson is a great frontman and sounds fantastic singing the classic material. The crowd sang along loudly with favorites "Time Will Tell," "Cathedral," "Midnight Love" and "Fifth Angel."


Day two was loaded with some truly great bands. Spain's Hitten delivered one of the best sets of the festival. They looked and sounded like they time travelled from the 80's. With songs like "Mr. Know it All," "Blood From A Stone" and "Eyes Never Lie" these kids are the future of heavy metal. 


Another great band, Swedish speed metalers Enforcer were blessed with a do over after sound issues on the main stage the previous day caused their set to be delayed and cut in half. But when Onslaught was unable to make the show, Enforcer gladly grabbed the open slot and this time everything sounded great. Favorites included "Unshackle Me," "From Beyond," "Nostalgia," "Take Me Out of This Nightmare" and a killer cover of Black Sabbath's "Die Young." This is another young band to keep your eyes on. 


Sabire play what founder/vocalist/guitarist Scarlett Monastyrski calls "Acid Metal" and really put on a show. At one point he loaded up a super soaker water gun with Tequila and shot it into the crowd. Another song featured dancing girls with whips and chains. Their entertaining set ended with a kick ass cover of W.A.S.P.'s "Blind in Texas." 


Chicago's High Spirits was another stand out. They're a well polished act with great songs including "In the Moonlight," "Restless" and "High Spirits." Omen played their second set, this time celebrating the 40th anniversary of their Warning of Danger album. Cavalera, featuring former Sepultura members Max and Igor Cavalera played a set of Sepultura classics. 


Finally it was time for the main reason many fans attended this fest, the return of one of the greatest progressive metal bands ever - Crimson Glory! This was also the triumphant homecoming of their new lead singer, Houston's own Travis Wills! The band also features three fifths of the classic lineup with guitarist Ben Jackson, bassist Jeff Lords and drummer Dana Burnell. New guitarist Mark Borgmeyer and keybordist Jon Pyres round out the rest of the band. From the opening song "Valhalla," you could tell this was going to be something special. The set was nothing but classics from the self titled debut and it's incredible follow up, Transcendence. Every song in the set was a highlight, especially "Lady of Winter," "Painted Skies" and their biggest hit to date "Lonely." 


At one point Wills asked a front row fan who was wearing a mask similar to the one the band's late original vocalist Midnight used to wear on stage if he could borrow it. When he put it on something magical happened. As Wills performed the highly emotional "In Dark Places," it was almost as if he was channeling Midnight. Wills had HUGE shoes to fill as Midnight's songs are so difficult to sing, but Travis didn't just do a great job, he owned them as his hometown crowd went wild. The whole band sounded amazing, with Borgmeyer fitting in seamlessly as well. This unbelievable night came to an end with the classic "Red Sharks."


Day three opened with a set from one of promoter Christian Larson's bands, Night Cobra. Other featured bands included Primordal, Goatwhore, Coroner and Samael. SA Slayer reunited for a special set with Dangerous Toys vocalist Jason McMaster on vocals.


All good things must come to an end, but not before the mighty Saxon took the stage to close out the fest. They opened with the perfect song to kick off a set at a festival called Hell's Heroes, "Hell, Fire and Damnation." Other highlights included "This Town Rocks," "Dallas 1 PM," "And the Bands Played On" and "Denim and Leather." As a special treat they also played a song they don't do very often, their cover of Christopher Cross' "Ride Like the Wind." They would send everyone home happy with the classics, "Wheels of Steel" and "Princess of the Night." 


Hell's Heroes VII is in the books and fans are already looking forward to Hell's Heroes VIII!

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