Helloween - "Helloween"
To lightly say this is the album is the album of the year is, for me, an understatement. The first two thoughts that bugged me right after the first listen were, first of all, even if Helloween were to end after this I would be more satisfied than sad, and, since this album honestly sounds like a complication of the most classic Helloween sound and taking their influence to the genre into consideration, this is the perfect album to introduce anyone to power metal. So I felt it would be safe to title this epic work as album of the century. Of course, this is more of a collection of what the German masters have been doing all these years rather than a new step forward, which I understand would annoy some.But for me, the nostalgia had just been taken to a new level and is wholly welcome. Just to name a few, Fear of the Fallen gives off vibes from the Keepers album whilst Indestructible reminds me strongly of their Masters of Rings era, though with Roland out of the picture the classical elements were less pronounced and more focused on giving us chunky riffs and a melodic duet from Deris and Kiske. Angels, which, however much it sounds like Creatures in Heaven in my ears, takes a more solid and colorful approach , unlike the flat and generic former one. Not to mention Skyfall , written by the Father himself and drawing influences from the forever classic Keepers of the Seven Keys , making the best of use of the return of Kiske and Hansen. At the end where the three sings alternatively and blends so smoothly together just hits me hard on my musical G-spot. The perfect grand finale. The two bonus on the digital version falls into the category of the more pop side of the genre with possibly the most goofy melody on the album, but still kick ass in aspect of the vocals. Another thing I love about this album is the lyrics. I am a diehard fan of Freedom Call, so I'm used to power metal bands sounding happy. In fact, I like them as flowery as possible. Though it's usually the melodies that cheers me, I can't help laughing at these lyrics .I mean, come on, aliens? Robot King? Are you guys even serious? Songs about headbanging and raising our horns to hail the metal gods always gets me smiling. And yes, I definitely had ‘the best time of my life' listening to Best Time. Still, I'm not saying this album is flawless. Angels is still a weaker song than most and the sloppy songwriting in Out for the Glory and Down in the Dump could really use some cutting up in the solos and polishing in the riffs. What really triggered me is Hansen only getting snippets as a vocal, Kiske getting a bit more. I know Deris is the most important of all three in the Helloween history, but seeing as this is a reunion, I was hoping for something in the form of Avantasia, or at least more from the Father himself. Overall, this album is the perfect representation of the band's history, the epic farewell to their former conflicts and a brand new beginning in hope of more decades of solid power metal from the Fathers of power metal. Indeed, tomorrow is a mystery, but I think we have no doubt in what tomorrow holds in store for the Masters.
Disc #1
01 Out For The Glory
02 Fear Of The Fallen
03 Best Time
04 Mass Pollution
05 Angels
06 Rise Without Chains
07 Indestructible
08 Robot King
09 Cyanide
10 Down In The Dumps
11 Orbit
12 Skyfall
Disc #2
01 Golden Times
02 Save My Hide
03 Pumpkins United
04 We Are Real
======================