HELLION – To Hellion And Back

Hellion is a Traditional Metal band that first formed in the early 1980s. Being female-fronted was the band’s “oddity” — it helped their popularity in especially England, but caused indifference by the record labels in North America. Fast-forwarding to 2014, the only common fiber within Hellion is vocalist Ann Boleyn, but HNE/Cherry Red Records felt the band’s relevance should be better displayed, and signed Hellion to release 3 albums, the first being To Hellion And Back, which is an “anthology” of sorts that includes a handful of rare/new tracks. This 2-CD set contains 26 total tracks, and demonstrates quickly that Hellion indeed had plenty to offer the ‘80s/early ‘90s Traditional Metal scene.

Boleyn plays a “tough girl” role in pretty much every song, but has plenty of vocal talent, and comes through somewhere between the Melodic Queen Doro Pesch (Warlock) and Thrash Temptress Sabina Clausen (Holy Moses). By and large the tracks contain catchy, crunching riffs, blistering guitar solos, and thick drumbeats … just what you’d expect from any quality Traditional Metal band. To Hellion And Back is a great re-introduction to a band that deserved more during Metal’s emergence … be sure not to miss Hellion this time around.