Helloween's Reviews

The Dark Ride

(Average Rating: 8.80 out of 10)

Different does not mean worse

(Rated this album with 8 out of 10)
Reviewed by shinta-kun from Chile

Great and unique (in Helloween universe) compositions structure this very hard album. What I especially like about it is it's way of painting a dark picture with its sound. Really fast and broken riffs that you'd think would rather belong to a prog metal band such as, say, Fates Warning, make you stop and listen. Many people don't like songs such as Escalation 666 in this album, which has some very hard and dissonant riffs (enhancing the dark picture that the cover so correctly describes), that, in my book, are extremely kewl. I believe, in the end, that for you to like this album depends on the music you're used to hear and like. If you've never strayed from power and speed stuff, never listened to some good prog, tech or math in your life, you might not truly enjoy this album, but trust me when I tell you that, even if you cannot appreciate it, this album exhibits some very nice song crafting, and is a very welcome change in attitude by one of the biggest bands in metal history. No band should repeat itself record after record.

About people who say this sounds like newer, pseudo(nu)-metal stuff of these days, I'll have to disagree. Guitars in this album sound unarguably lower in tone than most Helloween stuff, and because these new and IMO horrible bands of today's mainstream use that sound (seven strings,) it doesn't automatically make it the same. Song structure nor anything relates to these bands, unlike Metallica's St. Anger.

As a plus, there are some nice lyrics, such as the chuckle-inducing Mr. Torture, though most of the rest is much darker. Also, Andi's vocals are very special and out-of-the-ordinary--he is very underrated. I don't like him better than Michael Kiske, but he stands his own, and I also like how he twisted older songs in the High Live album. One thing I like better in him is how he does not have a perfect voice (like Kiste's), but he entertains by giving different textures with his very dynamic voice.

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