Greek heavy/power metal band HellPass has come to the front with its debut album, “Gates of War”, and without exaggeration, I was taken by surprise! Because this album puts HellPass on the table of the contemporary heavy/power metal scene, including many really great moments of heavy/power metal grandeur! Let’s take things one by one. Firstly, HellPass has the skill to compose fine songs, which will be holding your interest from the first until the last note. Secondly, they give all their best for a successful result, they give their soul for a true, heartfelt outcome! And thirdly, they manage to create their personal style, musically speaking – of course, they cannot be 100% original, yes, they don’t avoid the clichés of the genre, however, they sound unique! So, HellPass has three important virtues – technique, feeling and character, which are wonderfully combined and lead us to a brilliant album, catchy, straightforward and passionate. “Gates of War” is ideal for all the fans of Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Helloween, Manowar, Savatage, etc. and will satisfy everyone, who likes heavy, riffy, well-structured and well-arranged heavy/power metal. If I had to pick my favorite songs off this album, I would pick “Alter Nation”, “Burning Flags”, “Futura” and the title-track. The first full-length album of HellPass is the undeniable victory of a band, who knows what to do and how to do it. They aren’t reinventing the steel, but they give oxygen to their genre and can now look forward to much better days!
♦ 7,5/10
Dimitris Zacharopoulos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utlvVsp7dts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lZE0kZEN8Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKqjPXxMHRY
