The reunited Helloween have created a new album that is sure to delight fans of the band
Finally! We have been able to enjoy the new album by Andi Deris, Michael Kiske, Michael Weikath, Kai Hansen, Markus Grosskopf, Sascha Gerstner and Dani Löble under the title “HELLOWEEN”, which opens a new chapter after 35 years of a glorious career.
It is clear that expectations were sky high for this album, and with the arrival of the first single “Skyfall” those expectations were not appeased.
Helloween in these 12 tracks approaches a science-fiction theme that rides perfectly on an evergreen power-metal with an album that we can consider conceptual and in which the contributions of each of the band members are evident in composition and interpretation.
Let’s go through and enjoy the album track by track.
Song by Song “Helloween” 2021
In good old-fashioned fashion the album’s opening track “Out for the Glory” features a somewhat cinematic intro to warm up the band’s entire instrumental line up which quickly engages the band’s entire instrumental line up to unfold a classic German power metal rhythm leading into Kiske’s entrance. This song has been written by Weikath and this always generates the lighthearted and even joking air that he applies to it.
The second track was also the second advance that arrived a few days ago. It is “Fear of The Fallen”, which with its calm start led by Andi Deris deceives. Really we are in front of a speed-metal cut, fast, singable, hymnic in which in spite of the protagonism of Deris, and the rhythmic base, the matching with the contributions of Kiske is perfect.
Sascha Gerstner is in charge of the third track which, under the title “Best Time”, offers us a song that we could call mid tempo within Helloween’s tempos and which represents a few minutes of music that are somewhat lighter and more playful.
“Mass Pollution” is tailor-made for Deris combining hard rocking verses, rhythm cuts, eighties solo and a power metal chorus born to be bellowed live by the audience.
Then we have “Angels” which is probably the discordant element in the album in a composition that mixes old sounds, some progressive elements, a lot of bass and a lot of vocal games between Kiske and Deris. It’s not my favourite, but it’s true that with the listens I’ve been getting the most out of it.
Well, after this “strange” impasse comes the pure Helloween aldo with “Rise Without Chains” in which it’s impossible to avoid certain similarities with “Eagle Fly Free”.
And now Hard Rock… My God what a good time we’re having with all these nuances! “Indestructible” is a great song to sing along with Deris in which Kiske’s support gives it a special life.
We’re not going to stop having fun, that’s for sure. “Robot King” brings us back to speed metal in a very fun song musically and lyrically. The protagonist is undoubtedly Deris, but it’s clear that Kiske’s contribution strengthens the song in a spectacular way.
“Cyanide” is very much in the vein of the previous track, but remains somewhat weak and if one had to choose one, it would be the one chosen to be considered filler.
And now I want you to get comfortable because here comes one of the gems of the album. “Down the Dumps” starts off with synthesized sounds with an oriental touch to open up to a stretch of keyboards, heavy riffs and a heavy rhythm. Almost a minute and a half later, Kiske, Deris and Hansen alternate vocals over different riffs, which are the main base of the song and give us a game of vocals and guitars that is worth mentioning.
“Orbit” is simply a one minute instrumental intro that by itself doesn’t add much, but it makes what is to come even bigger.
And finally we come to what has been the first single and a total declaration of intent, “Skyfall”. The version we can listen to on the album gives us more than 12 minutes of enjoyment with the three vocalists alternating their appearances, each musician giving their all in their own way and bordering on perfection as a team. It’s clear that the choice of Skyfall as the album’s first preview was not chosen lightly.
Conclusions:
Sometimes you have to take a risk, take the plunge and close old wounds. Helloween did this with Pumpkins United, and now, either because of popular clamour or because the heads are more settled, the Germans are back together with an album worthy of being on the podium of the best in the band’s history.
We can only continue to enjoy the album, which we remind you will be released on 18 June, and hope to be able to sing a few of these songs in concert. For the moment, and we cross our fingers, the next opportunity to do this will be next April 2022.
