Helloween
Master of the Rings

THE REVIEW

"Oh, listen here, I told you Helloween would mess up! If you listen to their latest album 'Chameleon' it's a mishmash of hard rock stuff mixed with other nonsense, without that phenomenon Kiske, they're good as done, take it from me..."

In the early '90s, these were likely the discussions among Helloween fans about how the German band had softened, first with the release of "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" (1991), and then with the already mentioned "Chameleon" (1993), two albums that had literally split the group's following in two, in addition to being heavily criticized due to their choice of aiming for more pop, light, and commercial songs.

Even though today these two albums have been decisively re-evaluated and even in some cases elevated as the best releases from the Hamburg Pumpkins, between '91 and '94 it wasn't quite like that.

Two flops one after the other, and as if that wasn't enough, the departure of singer Michael Kiske further contributed to the band's rapid disintegration, which suddenly found itself without its shining star, that voice that had made listeners dream so much in the two "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" albums, was now gone.

Replacing Kiske was almost impossible, but Helloween did not give up, and chose Andi Deris, former Pink Cream 69 and Nameless, as their new singer, with a vocal range completely different from his predecessor's, softer, yet not incapable of reaching (almost) the vocal heights of Kiske in songs like "Eagle Fly Free" or "Future World," which Deris would excellently reinterpret in future tours.

In 1994, "Master Of The Rings" was released, the sixth album from the Pumpkins, and from the first listen it absolutely does not make you miss Michael Kiske on the microphone. The so-called "Happy Metal" seems to have returned to Helloween's home, just listen to the first notes of "Secret Alibi" or the catchy chorus of "Perfect Gentleman." Even the heavier side of the band does not seem to have been set aside, and indeed the fast and massive "Sole Survivor" is positioned as the opening track.

"Why?" showcases the more melodic side of Helloween, with Deris in amazing form, and even the most complex song, "Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)" of almost 8 minutes, does not experience any drop in quality, managing to keep the listener's attention. If one had to find flaws by force, "Where The Rain Grows" doesn't fully convince, becoming too anonymous in the chorus, while "The Game Is On," although enjoyable enough, is exactly identical in style to "Perfect Gentleman," while "In The Middle Of A Heartbeat" proves to be too, too predictable as a ballad.

As mentioned, Deris does an excellent job on "Master Of The Rings", and despite some dips in parts, this work will be the first of a long series of excellent albums that will be released in rapid succession. Helloween is still criticized today for never radically changing their sound, for never trying to renew their attitude, but when you listen to an album like this, it instinctively prompts you to say "And why should they?"

3.5