Helloween
Better Than Raw

Before starting to write this review, I must preface with one thing: I am a die-hard fan of Helloween, they were my introduction to Metal with a capital M. Therefore, a review written by me about the five Germans can never be completely impartial, no matter how hard I try. Additionally, I decided to review this album because no one had done it before, and it seems right to inform people about this little masterpiece. That said, let's begin...

Helloween began their darkest period with Andi Deris, with the two Keepers behind them and a very important name upon them. Even today, people think of Kiske and his crystalline voice when they hear the name Helloween, and almost out of nostalgia, they tend to dismiss Deris. The band changed; there is nothing to be done. Kiske declared metalheads "dickheads", and the group decided to move on regardless. And besides being an amazing vocalist (a matter of taste), Deris is much more consistent with himself than the blonde angel of Hamburg; he sings metal and wants to sing metal. But let's start talking about music; I don't want to become verbose, though I could talk about them for hours.

The CD opens with an orchestral track, as is now tradition, with a mysterious and evocative tone, composed by Weikath, the very successful "Deliberately Limited Prelude Period in Z" which, aside from the pompous title, excellently opens the doors to what is perhaps the hardest and "meanest" track of the Pumpkins, "Push", which bursts in like a herd of buffalo after the calm of the prelude with a heavy and fast riff accompanied by the divine Uli (Ulrich) Kusch's drumming, a true pneumatic hammer of the CD. Deris's voice, perhaps a bit annoying and too forced and falsetto in this track, alternates with the very aggressive and almost growl-like chorus, culminating in the usual back and forth of the two guitarists, especially Grapow in this case.
Following is the epic and in full power style "Falling Higher", much happier than the previous track, fast and incisive, a quintessential Helloween song. Two string notes repeated endlessly open "Hey Lord", an invocation to the Lord (this CD, if listened to carefully, seems like a prayer!!!), a song that is more Hard Rock than Metal, with a very calm chorus and a refrain that quickly gets stuck in your head, but the song otherwise does not offer much to report, good but average. "Don't Spit On My Mind" starts very dragged and tired but revives a bit always in the chorus, perhaps Helloween's ever-strength, they honestly never miss one.

Still dark and mysterious but decidedly more valuable is "Revelation", instrumentally excellent, rich in technique, fast, quite long (8 min) with fantastic solos that prefer melody and atmosphere over insane speed. Excellent alternation of dark and heavy moments marked by the absurd bassist Markus Grosskopf (a legend as an artist and showman) and the tectonic Kusch, and relaxed and harmonious moments. The clock hands mark "Time", the ballad of the album, very nice with a dark atmosphere, which seems to hold its breath only to burst into a very singable refrain. Perhaps the masterpiece of the album is "I Can".
Here, the whole group gives their utmost, from first to last, creating a top-notch song. Melody and power; this seems to be Helloween's recipe for this CD. Following is "An Handful of Pain", another very successful and even better-executed song, with Deris shining here with his unique high notes, certainly not the highest ever heard but endowed with a power and a "grated" and almost hoarse sound truly unique and rare.

The album returns to its roots with a pure happy song, with Andi switching tones effortlessly, and a devastating drum, "Laudate Dominum", a very strange track, entirely sung in Latin, which at first listening seems like the usual easy song with no technical pretensions... but go take a look at the sheet music! First-class guitar heroes without a doubt. The work of the Pumpkins of Hamburg concludes with the excellent "Midnight Sun", returning to dark and heavy atmospheres, but always with an impeccable interplay of melodies. The tapping at the beginning of the song is interesting. Excellent technical performance by the whole group, in their happiest musical moment, after the two Keepers' exploit.

Deris (whether you like him or not, I say my personal impressions) performs all the tracks with character and personality. Michael Weikath (ps my idol) as usual excels with songwriting worthy of him and with solos, maybe not impossible and blazing, melodic and captivating, perfectly in tune with the songs, imbuing them with his style. Roland Grapow in this CD is less "Malmsteen-like" than usual, he too seeks a more melodic and substantial sound without abandoning his lightning-fast scales and arpeggios. There are few words for Grosskopf, excellent as usual; in my opinion, he is one of the best bassists of the genre. Kusch amazes even more with his incredible skills (not surprisingly, he and Grapow, after the split, went on to form Masterplan, creating a band of extremely high technical and artistic caliber) able to be heavy and compelling, never missing a beat and hitting hard, not limiting himself to the repetitive double pedal on and on of most power drummers.

Helloween are now entering their darkest period, where they try to give their sound a new fullness but without neglecting the happy note that distinguishes them. An excellent CD, in my opinion, a must for those who love Helloween, probably the best (and least noted) album of the Deris generation.