With a total of eighteen albums under his belt, veteran singer James Rivera has proudly carried the torch of an accomplished metal front man for the past thirty years and counting. He is well renowned as the voice behind Houston, Texas, based progressive power metal act HELSTAR; a remarkable band established in the early 1980's that is said to have put the city on the heavy metal map of the world. To this day Rivera is recognized as the sole member who single handedly kept the ensemble alive over the years despite numerous lineup transformations and hardships of the ever changing music industry. In addition to HELSTAR, Rivera has moved on to front various notable metal outfits during his music career and even composed several tribute bands. For complete HELSTAR band history, please visit www.helstarmetal.com
DESTINY'S END, a technical, melodic power metal onslaught was formed in Los Angeles, CA, in 1998 at a time when HELSTAR had disbanded and the power metal genre was experiencing a resurgence. The outfit enjoyed several years of success with the release of two albums, coupled by US and European tours which proved to resurface Rivera's name strongly. Alas, the band parted ways in 2001; the same year that Rivera assembled a re-vamped "reunion" lineup of HELSTAR to perform at festivals in both the US and abroad, which continued to make select appearances over the next few years. It was also at this time that the vocalist was recruited to front thrash metal pioneers FLOTSAM & JETSAM on their fall US tour.
The following year Rivera was inducted into the SEVEN WITCHES camp, a four-piece founded by guitarist Jack Frost, which also consisted of bassist Joey Vera (ENGINE, ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING) and drummer Brian Craig (DESTINY'S END). The singer had also recently relocated from Houston to Tampa, Florida, the death metal capital of the US, where he worked with noteworthy musicians in side-projects and tribute bands, creating an even more superior name for himself. By 2004, Rivera had returned to his native Houston and constructed a "rebirth" of HELSTAR with his opus, DISTANT THUNDER, also featuring bassist Mike Le Pond (SYMPHONY X). The band saw one album release and a scant amount of live performances, only to discover that many old-school fans preferred HELSTAR over DISTANT THUNDER.
KILLING MACHINE became the next calling for Rivera. This stellar ensemble included such acclaimed artists as bassist Dave Ellefson (F5, ex-MEGADETH), drummer Jimmy DeGrasso (Y&T, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, ex-MEGADETH) and guitarist Juan Garcia (AGENT STEEL). Soon thereafter, Rivera was also asked to join the ranks of long running San Francisco bay area metallers VICIOUS RUMORS, lead by guitarist Geoff Thorpe, which also spotlights guitar icon Brad Gillis (NIGHT RANGER, OZZY OSBOURNE). The most highly anticipated news arrived in 2006, when it was announced that HELSTAR would reunite as the classic 'Remnants of War' lineup for the 20th Anniversary of the album's release. By 2007 the classic reunited lineup garnered the interest of AFM Records, located in Hamburg, Germany, with whom they ultimately signed a four album worldwide distribution deal.
As of the year 2012, HELSTAR has released two studio albums featuring heavier new material, following a "best-of" album with re-recorded classic songs. The band is at an all time high after three decades since it's formation and is now preparing for a special 30-Year Anniversary Concert in Houston on March 24 at Warehouse Live, which will be filmed & recorded to become the first official live HELSTAR album and DVD.
Over the previous year, Rivera has also been performing live with the legendary reactivated Los Angeles-based metal outfit MALICE, who have just inked a deal with Germany's SPV/Steamhammer and will enter the recording studio in January to begin work on an album. The untitled forthcoming cut will consist of eight classic songs, in addition to four new tracks and is scheduled for release in May 2012.
In the interim of touring and recording with his original acts, Rivera continues to front his Black Sabbath & Judas Priest tribute band SABBATH JUDAS SABBATH and will soon unveil a new project, inspired by his own past accomplishments in other bands.
