Helloween
Gambling With The Devil

Unique band, Helloween. It seems they enjoy rising like a phoenix after huge flops and moments of deep compositional crisis. Their biography is, allow me the term, a total mess. They just can't seem to find balance in their lineup (see Hansen, Kiske, Grapow, Kush's departures...) or in their sound. This is the only way to explain the unexpected darkening in sound with the controversial (and good) "The Dark Ride" (2000), which led to the expulsion of Grapow and Kush heading to Masterplan. This is the only way to understand an experimental rock album like "Chameleon" (1993) that instead marked Kiske's exit for a futile solo project. The drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg's suicide, also in 1993, could have been fatal, but Helloween, when presumed doomed, find the strength to rise again. This happened with "The Time Of The Oath" (1996) and "Better Than Raw" (1998), and now, after two half failures (1 and a half stars, at most 2 for me) like "Rabbit Don't Come Easy" and "Keeper Of The Seven Keys III", it happens with this amazing "Gambling With The Devil".

Pumpkins are like this: take it or leave it. I really don't know what to expect from their next album now that they've found the right path again: probably a new lineup upheaval for a shift towards the most insipid power-prog. For now, let's enjoy this latest effort that made me extremely happy because in the concert that encompasses 20 years of power metal (Helloween + Gamma Ray in Rome and Milan on November 27/28) I will be able to sing new songs that are more than decent, powerful, gritty, and melodic.

Dynamic and cheerful metal evoking "Better Than Raw" in the melodic lines of "Can Do It" or in those of the discrete single ("As Long As I Fall") where you can appreciate excellent work by drummer Dani Löble. Finally, something that tastes like true old-school melodic metal, without resorting to plagiarism. In "Kill It Deris" instead, exalts with his rough voice for a killer track that will almost certainly, with a roar, open the live shows to audiences around the world. The high point is reached with "The Saints": an exemplary suite that captures the essence of modern power metal for its speed, melody, slick solos, and powerful breaks like in the old days, which I would compare to the excellent "The Dark Ride". Gerstner and Weikath, for the first time, show they've found really remarkable automation, and the solos are incredibly more valid, original, and powerful than those of the previous two albums. A compelling crescendo for the simple "Final Fortune" that sticks in your head and won't leave, creating addiction. If an easy-listening and unpretentious song like this, based on an elementary riff and minimal verses, grabs you even after repeated listens, you understand the band is in good shape. More dark and ominous is "I.M.E." where Deris' voice revels along with the distortions marking a different piece that breaks the setlist with great timing. The sparkling finale is guaranteed by the superb "Dreambound". Once again, Deris' decisive vocal interpretation convinces, as does the rhythmic section and the execution power of the track that flows effortlessly.

Helloween came back just when I least expected it: it was about time!!! To see "Rabbit Don't Come Easy" and "Keeper III" we would need binoculars and glasses, respectively. Excellent production, overall technique noticeably above average (especially the rhythm section), and finally inspired pure power metal songs, no longer a sterile carbon copy from the past. This hasn't happened in at least 7 years, if not 9 if we use "Better Than Raw" as a benchmark. A homogeneous tracklist with cheerful, powerful, direct, and more crafted pieces once again proving that when they find inspiration, Helloween are still among the best bands in the genre.

3 and a half stars. I add the fourth for the pleasant surprise.