ALBUM REVIEW: Helloween – Helloween

The skies darken as grey clouds roll across the heavens, the ominous and foreboding aura is thick and sticky in the air. Thunder claps, and lightning strikes too close for comfort, before Mother Nature’s wildlife howls and shrieks in terror, running in all directions to seek sanctuary from the merciless forces of nature. The soundtrack that plays out across the plains of panic and those responsible for provoking the weatherly phenomenon, is the one name all those across the land cower at: HELLOWEEN. *Insert evil, maniacal laugh here.*

Following on from a career that currently stands at 35 years strong, the influential German heavy metal outfit continue to churn out fear-inciting albums from every incarnation the band has seen throughout it’s tyrannical reign. The self-titled album, Helloween, is the septets’ 16th studio offering and follows in the wake of their Pumpkin’s United tour, enhancing their volume with the now permanent addition of past guitarist and vocalist Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske that, alongside Andi Deris, now brings their battalion of vocalists to a formidable trinity.

Opening track Out For The Glory splits the heavens in two, the shredding guitars of Sascha Gerstner, Michael Weikath, and Kai Henson violently hammering down like sharp and icy hailstones. Daniel Loeble’s barrage of drums act as the life-threatening gale force winds, encouraged by Markus Grosskopf’s melodically incessant bass lines that contorts this power metal Goliath into an almighty blizzard.

Tranquil beginnings and verses in Fear Of The Fallen are all but the calm before the storm, as shallow waters recede into the distance and the blackened void conjures mind tricks of shark infested depths. Galloping drums race against the ferocious tide that sweeps across the land, amplifying into a tsunami of epic proportions.

Best Time raises some eyebrows as the beaten path leads off into the direction of pop rock and glam metal, the lines “yes I know I’m gonna be alright, I’m feeling better in the neon lights, I will have the best time of my life,” gives POISON and SCORPIONS a run for their money-filled thongs. Clawing back the heavy metal title, thundering bass lines skyrocket into Mass Pollution as the lyrics vocalise the thoughts that brandish all of our brains when hearing the sound of squealing guitars and pummelling riffs; “I love the sound of heavy thunder.” In a twisted turn of events, stalking guitar licks slow to a crawl and scrape the underbelly of society’s damned. 

Dismally ominous organs shatter the ether in Angels, and “when angels cause you nightmares” preaches to prophetic choirs of fallen winged beings. The choral impact of the triad of vocals thickens the atmosphere to a fatal crush of weight, extracting the very last breath of your being leaving nothing but a sad and empty husk. In the same lieu of unity, the duel guitars create a matrimony of uplifting spirits that allows for one to Rise Without Chains and become Indestructible. 

The 12 track record is lengthened by five, six, seven minute tracks that consume the clock and drowns out the eternally ticking hand, the seconds morphing into minutes with questionable lyrics and themes like “he came to in a hospital, had no clue where he was. He looked down on himself…” in the seven minute journey of Robot King. Pinched harmonics leave scarred lacerations on the landscape that Down In The Dumps gallops upon, the ghost of the sting still present through time. 

As the saying goes, leave the best ’til last. Skyfall, as the album’s prime single, leads the record out on a journey all in its own right, an adventure fit for the Lord of the Rings trilogy that’s complete with protagonists and antagonists in differing vocal styles. Collapsing in at 12 minutes, the track will leave you with the same dehydration and fatigue as a LOTR marathon would do, but you’re almost certainly ready to do it all over again the following fortnight.

HELLOWEEN’s triumphant return with Helloween certainly hammers down the doors with a battering ram and catapult in tow, ransacking rooms that are mostly filled with precious jewels, yet a select few lay barren, bare, and crestfallen. With seven seasoned and strong-willed warriors leading the troupe, the powers that be finally combine forces to prove that their power is greatly more achieved when they band together.

Rating: 7/10

Helloween is set for release on June 18th via Nuclear Blast Records. 

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