It’s no exaggeration to say that hope, expectation and excitement are quite high amongst Helloween fans at present. On the back of the Pumpkins United World Tour, where original guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen, and “…Seven Keys” etc. vocalist Michael Kiske were welcomed back into the Helloween fold alongside the current line-up for live dates, the almost unthinkable has happened and this line-up has now recorded a whole album of originals! They’ve even gone and called it “Helloween”. It had better be good…
Now I’m partial to a bit of Helloween, admittedly more their earlier stuff rather than particularly recent – the Hansen fronted “Walls Of Jericho”, Kiske sung “Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1” and Deris’ debut “Master Of The Rings” being my faves for what it’s worth – but I wasn’t expecting an amalgamation of all three line-ups or even a particular trip down memory lane just because of the people involved. But there are actually many examples of the band recapturing early vibes (Dani Löble using Ingo Scwichtenberg’s original drum kit being a poignant one, right down to using analogue tech in their old studios to recorded in). Helloween have been on the go for 35 years now after all, it isn’t just about the first 10. But what better excuse to just, mix things up a bit? And y’know what, I think they have!
Any of these songs could be on a Helloween release from the last 15 years or so, but then when you hear Michael Kiske taking the lion’s share of lead vocals on ‘Angels’ and ‘Out For Glory’, you realize how much his vocal style is still so well suited to that Helloween guitar style. Don’t get me wrong, Andi Deris is as fabulous as ever in both writing and singing (‘Fear Of The Fallen’ for example), yet his wonderfully distinctive voice seems to shine even more on these tracks when the vocal duties are shared. In an ironic twist, probably the most retrospective of the tracks on this album is actually the Sascha Gerstner penned ‘Best Time’, which bounces along admirably with a ‘Future World’ type feel. Michael Wiekath seems to have relished writing his contributions to the album with more than one singer in mind and even the Marcus Grosskopf written ‘Indestructible’ is one of his best.
Songwriting, performance and delivery are at an optimum throughout this varied, but undeniably Helloween album. Excellent vocal harmonies and hooks dance with trademark guitar-work atop galloping rhythms, topped off with sparkling lead-work and all wrapped up in intelligent arrangements – yes, it really does seem to have what you would hope for from this illustrious line-up. And of course, they save the most intriguing and interesting (and “Keeper Of The Seven Keys” echoing…?) track until last – the 12 minute epic ‘Skyfall’ where Deris and Kiske duel and duet in a fabulously complementary way, with the unmistakeable voice of Kai Hansen admirably weighing in when required throughout. Very reminiscent of both “Seven Keys” closers. Whether intentional or not, this final track just further underlines the potential that these seven musicians could unleash if they continue with this line-up idea. This actually feels like a new sound and a new era for the band, combining what went before with where they are now, with songwriters and performers working together to make each song as good as it could possibly be – all under that trusted Helloween banner.
(8.5/10 Andy Barker)
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