Helloween's Reviews

The Dark Ride

Continued, surprising improvement from the masters

Andy Deris has officially grown on me now. He's got such a great mix of gravel & range. The guy's amazing--one minute he sounds like his vocal chords have been saturated in cigarette ashes, and the next he's crystal clear with great range. The man's so dynamic, and here's the key: he and Grapow are now turning in the best songwriting efforts of the band. Yes, Weikath is still there, but the band has elected to rely on him for the classic Helloween power songs, ala "All Over the Nations" and "Salvation." It's Grapow and Deris who are writing the truly engaging work now, from the drop-B madness of "Escalation 666," to the wonderously simple "If I Could Fly," to the almost-danceable "The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)."

Every album since Master of the Rings has gotten progressively better. And better yet, it seems as if Weikath has made some very good decisions in replacing departed members. As this group continues to grow and mature, I would expect even better things in the future.

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