By: Jesse Striewski
In more recent times, classic power metal act Helloween reunited with two of its core members; guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen and singer Michael Kiske, each returned to the band in 2016 to form one of the most solidified lineups in the group’s history to date, bringing its current membership up to seven.
The result is this twelve track, self-titled collection of new material (their first new studio album overall since 2015), which finds the band utilizing three vocalists at once for the first time ever. There’s some great moments found through out, with “Fear of the Fallen” leading the charge. Other tracks like “Mass Pollution” and “Indestructible” are some of the heaviest in the band’s career to date.
However, the end result is not completely flawless, either. “Skyfall” and “Out for the Glory” contain some impressive guitar work, but could easily lose the casual listener’s attention with their longer run times (the non-single version of the latter actually clocks in at over twelve minutes). And “Angels” feels incomplete, as if it can’t really decide what it wants to be.
There will always be plenty of naysayers out there looking down on Helloween for past “cheesy” moments (see: the music video for “Halloween”). But the more sophisticated listener should be able to appreciate the band’s highlighted technical skills, and recognize that Helloween have aged gracefully, worthy of being put alongside such contemporaries in the sub-genre as Queensryche or DragonForce.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
