(Rated this album with 6 out of 10) Reviewed by
chris
from Brockton, Massachusetts United States
I love Helloween & would consider them my favorite band. I've followed them through thier career & have liked everything they've ever put out. The brash thrash of the "EP" & "Walls of Jericho" era, the melodic energy of the "Keepers I&II", and even the breif flirtation w/ pop from the "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" & "Chamelion" era. I love the "Master of the Rings"/"Time of the Oath"/& "Better Than Raw" return to form; & "The Dark Ride" is in my heavy Rotation. I have bought every solo album by every member that I can find (Do you realize what Michael Kiske Imports COST???) and I love them ALL. Except this. First, Somebody tell Mickey Dee that he is NOT the God of Thunder. Second, Did Roland & Uli take all of this band's melodic sensibilities with them when they left? Where are the soaring choruses? Where are the bouncy solos? I actually bought the Japaneese import with the Accept cover "Fast as a Shark" on it and that was the only real standout track on the album. I know that this review reads like I hated it, but that's not true. As a metal album, it's fine, and much better than the garbage that passes for metal in America today. But, for Helloween, this is a major dissapointment. At least when they released controversial albums before they were attempting to break new ground. In this album, it sounds like a collection of second rate material left over from the great albums of the mid 1990s. Maybe they didn't spend enough time on it; after all, it's only been a year since "The Dark Ride". I hope that the next album is better.
