Armed with his voice, guitar, three of the best musicians on the planet, and a pulsing metal heart, Alex Sciortino has concocted one of the finest pure metal affairs of 2025 thus far in Helms Deep’s sophomore outing, Chasing the Dragon. This certified 10/10 banger throws things back to the wild and savage heyday of ’80s USPM in a way that few albums in recent memory have, with progressive musicianship and denim and leather-clad attitude to boot. Some might call it the full package. Mastermind Alex Sciortino calls it a look inside the madness of his subconscious (talk about metal!). We sat down with Sciortino to discuss the origin of Helms Deep, the current incarnation of the band, and instrumental metal (instrumetal?). Read on and chase on!
I’d like to start by getting some background on you and Helms Deep. When did the concept for this band first come about, and what goal did you have in mind?
Alex Sciortino: I had the idea of starting this project around 10 years ago. Basically, I wanted to do a classic style heavy metal band, kind of like Iron Maiden or Judas Priest, except make it a unique outlet of expression for my guitar playing and songwriting.
I take it from the name that you’re an Attacker fan. What other bands would you say were most influential on you and Helms Deep?
AS: I like the band Attacker, but they are not even close to one of my main influences. I keep seeing the association where people think we got our name from that album (Battle at Helm’s Deep), but it is not the case. Helms Deep is a fortress where one of the biggest battles in the Lord of the Rings books took place. Many bands draw influences and use references from those books. Attacker got the album name from there, as did I.
The band have just released their second album, Chasing the Dragon. How soon after 2023’s debut, Treacherous Ways, did ideas start coming together for this one?
AS: 10 songs flowed out of me right after I was done tracking the first album. I came up “Wing Chun” while tracking the second.
Joining you in this endeavor is the legendary John Gallagher of Raven fame on bass and backing vocals. How did you cross paths with John, and what’s it like collaborating with him in this vehicle?
AS: We met after a Raven show in Denver, CO. I was looking for a drummer to hire and asked about Mike (Heller). Mike and I connected, and Mike suggested John play bass for the project. I’ve been a huge Raven fan for years, so of course I couldn’t turn it down, not just because of his notoriety in the metal scene but because I knew his style would be perfect for the project and that he’s professional and dependable; Something that proved hard to find with other musicians I’ve had experience with.
This is also Helms Deep’s first album as a quartet, as you’re joined by new drummer Hal Aponte and additional guitarist Ray DeTone. In what ways have they impacted the band and the development of this album?
AS: This is the version of the band I wanted from the start, to be completely honest. Mike is an incredible drummer, but may be overqualified stylistically for a classic sounding heavy metal band like Helms Deep. Hal is in the exact sweet spot of technicality, proggyness, and organicness that I was looking for. I also wanted it to be a dueling guitar kind of band, and Ray is a killer player. His style contrasts mine beautifully, and I know he has the skill to learn pretty much anything. Both are as professional as they come, and got the job done quickly and efficiently as well, which is definitely a big factor.
Chasing the Dragon is a brilliant mix of high-speed power ragers, old-school anthems, and prog-tinged epics. When it comes to songwriting, do you have an idea of what direction you want a song to take beforehand, or does it ultimately unfold come the recording process?
AS: Mostly, I have 90% of the song done before we get to recording. The skeleton is mostly there from beginning to end. As I’m writing, I honestly surprise myself at where the pieces end up. With Chasing the Dragon, I wanted Ray, John, and Hal to add the final cherries on top, and experiment with adding stuff I would never think of, such as percussion, epic bass solos only John would think of, some guitar solos and leads in places I wouldn’t have thought to put them. Letting everyone add their personal touch plays a big part in supercharging the songs and really making them sound unique.
In true classic USPM fashion, the lyrics on this album are as grandiose as the music. Are there any recurring themes the fans should look out for when exploring this album, and what is it about those fantastical themes that lures you in?
AS: To be honest, this album is just a look inside of the madness of my subconscious. It’s anything and everything I think is cool thematically, instrumentally, lyrically, all dumped onto a three-sided super heavy metal album. I wrote all the songs in the year of the dragon (coincidence or destiny?) which a friend of mine told me after they were all written, so I thought it’d be cool to go with that as a theme except mesh it with sci-fi, vampires, occultism, and other folk styles. Basically, creating a big journey of insanity, which is what the album ended up turning out as. Why the album starts in China and ends in India I could not tell you, but fuck it: It’s metal and we do what we want.
Speaking of recording, this album you’ve produced yourself. How did that shape Chasing the Dragon, and in hindsight, is there anything you would’ve done differently production-wise on Treacherous Ways?
AS: Treacherous Ways was produced by Mike, so his more modern taste and influences affected the sound of album #1. I’m into 70s and 80s music almost exclusively, give or take a few newer albums and bands that do it old-school the way I like, so he and I had quite a few disagreements, especially toward the end of the process when I began to see the album come together in a way different than what I had envisioned. There were many things Mike’s input effected positively on that album, but also a few big things I wanted to do differently the next go around, and wanted the freedom to make those calls with no resistance or arguments. I’m very open-minded, but I needed a scenario this time where I’m the general so I could bring my vision to a reality precisely how I wanted it, instead of having it morphed into something I’m not that into. I believe I accomplished exactly what I was looking to on the first album here on the second, keeping everything in the direction of my vision with just enough wiggle room/freedom for all these great musicians to express themselves and add their personality and touch. Now we created something I thoroughly enjoy.
Interestingly enough, Chasing the Dragon closes with a colossal instrumental in “Shiva’s Wrath”. Was this always intended to be an instrumental? Furthermore, what is your favorite metal instrumental?
AS: Wes, when I wrote it, I set out to write a long instrumental of Indian metal. Oddly, the scales used are not all Indian. I actually ended up racking my brain for every exotic scale I could think of for the riffs and melodies of this song. Basically, I wanted to write an exotic sounding monster of a song. Favorite metal instrumental? Maybe (Metallica’s) “The Call of Ktulu”.
In closing, are there any plans in the future for Helms Deep to become a full-fledged live act?
AS: No plans to tour as of now, but eventually I think it needs to happen. This stuff would be so cool to play live.
The new Helms Deep album, Chasing the Dragon, is available now on Nameless Grave Records. For more information on Helms Deep, click here.