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“As many of you guys know there has been some changes going on in the band. It’s a bummer to see one of our founding members Arturo Rios have to step away from the band he’ll always be one of our brothers and close to us forever. We wish him the best of luck and are looking forward to the birth of his son! He’s gonna have one kickass poppa!!

We’d also like to take this time to welcome Mikey Carli to Hell Fire a power house drummer from the north bay born to raise hell and play heavy metal! Some of you guys saw our rehearsal/gig the other night for Leah’s bday party now well be on a hiatus till February going through our songs writing new ones and tracking for the record. Next show well be bringing it harder than ever!! Everyone give Mikey a warm welcome to the band were stoked to have ya buddy!”

Hell Fire – Metal Masses

Hell Fire – Seek & Destroy (Raven Cover)

“Next up was Hell Fire - a young classic metal band that has been making waves in the Bay Area metal scene for the past two years. The band has already gained approval from the likes of Gary Holt, Mark Osegueda and Aesop Dekker, but they still managed to win over this packed house with a stunning show. I had seen Hell Fire open the Bonded By Baloff event months ago and I came out of that show impressed, but the set they played at Slim’s on this night utterly obliterated the one I had seen months ago. There’s a lot of factors that may have played a role in this happening. For one, Slim’s was jam-packed with older fans that loved the thrashy, yet still rocking style of metal played by Hell Fire- the crowd went wild for the band, and responded to every guitar solo and power scream by Alex Orozco with a wild cheer. There was also the new addition of guitarist Jon Mendle to the band. To be blunt, his soloing was some of the most fluid, clean and downright fast I have ever seen from a player his age. Jon’s dueling solos with his partner Tony Campos were absolutely stunning, but even better were the harmonized solos that the two would play together (don’t think I didn’t catch that homage to “Phantom of the Opera”). Tony’s stage presence remains a highlight of the show, and it’s something that I really look forward to seeing Jon match as he plays more shows with Hell Fire. I was also actually able to hear Herman Bandala’s bass playing this time around, and I was honestly really amazed by what I heard. His playing was extremely busy and quick despite playing without a pick, and his occasional triple riffing with Tony and Jon was quite frankly pretty badass. Alex was also a much more active presence onstage this time around, constantly working the crowd, headbanging and waving his arms about. I’ve already praised his astounding singing ability, but this show really saw him succeed as a frontman as well. If I had a complaint though, I really wish that I could have heard him better. Alex was certainly audible, but having him be just a couple notches higher in the mix would have let every single scream pierce the air perfectly.

Hell Fire seemed to have played a few faster songs this time, drummer Arturo Rios’ feet were given a total workout by the end of the set. This set saw a band much closer to early thrash metal than the one I had seen so many months ago, but I would be happy to call this a fair middle ground. At this point in time, a Hell-Fire set is almost like a snapshot of the very early Bay Area thrash scene circa 1981. It’s the sound of NWOBHM made just a little faster and heavier, but not quite at the level of brutality that the Bay Area scene became known for from then on out. Among the songs played, one could definitely tell which ones were older- “Islands of Hell” and “Night Terror” were more on the cheesy and anthemic side of things compared to scorchers like “Lightning Axes” and “Metal Masses.” Hell-Fire’s newer material is a quantum leap in greatness above the songs offered on their current demo, and I would really like to see the band eventually fill their set with nothing but these new songs. Nearly everyone in Slim’s was able to appreciate their cover of “Phantom Lord” though (Art gave Lars a run for his money on this song), and the audience was noticeably upset when Alex announced that the band had only one song left. Hell Fire’s 45 minute set was one of the best supporting sets I’ve seen all year, and I can’t encourage these guys enough to come down to LA and show those crowds the great metal that the Bay Area has to offer.”

Hell Fire Set List:
1. Metal Masses
2. Islands of Hell
3. Lightning Axes
4. Phantom Lord (Metallica cover)
5. Fatal Desires
6. Night Terror
7. Escape Purgatory