Helloween is one of the pioneering bands in the power metal genre from Europe in the mid 1980's. Helloween started out very strong with their first three albums and then suffered through a long period of inconsistency. Their last couple of albums have shown a return to form though.This is Helloween's fifteenth full-length album and the German power metal legends have proven they still can put out some great music. Current singer Andi Deris sounds a lot like original singer Kai Hansen, who went on to form Gamma Ray. His voice is a slightly snarled tenor with an incredible range.
Musically, Helloween carries on with the dual guitar attack they have utilized since their inception in the early 1980's. The music is typically fast, yet melodic, and features numerous guitar solos. The guitar riffs have a bit of a stronger, more aggressive bite to them on this album though. That is a welcome change and adds intensity to the music.
The album's second track is the anthemic "Are You Metal?", which will likely be a strong closer in concerts and should have the crowd pumping their fists. The rest of the songs feature many of the lyrical themes Helloween has frequently used, such as fantasy, humor, and politics.
On Helloween's last album, the band enjoyed a career resurgence. This looks like it will continue for some time, as this is possibly even stronger than Gambling with the Devil.
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