Helloween & Gamma Ray

It's 'Straight Out of Hell' dude.:p

My opinion of the three most recent Helloween albums is actually the opposite of yours. I love 'Gambling With the Devil' and consider it to be my third favourite Helloween album (of the ones I've heard) behind the 7 Keys albums. It has a really interesting, dark atmosphere in place while still remaining catchy and happy with songs like 'Can Do It'. '7 Sinners' is a good album with some highlights (e.g. 'Raise the Noise' and 'Far in the Future') but it doesn't compete with 'Gambling With the Devil' in my opinion. 'Straight Out of Hell' is pretty mediocre with only a couple of standout tracks and one of the worst songs I've ever heard in 'Asshole'.<_<

Interesting story: I saw a vinyl copy of 7 Keys I in my local second hand music shop yesterday.
 
I pretty much agree with Wizard here. Only that I have different favorites on 7 Sinners (Who Is Mr. Madman, You Stupid Mankind, My Sacrifice) and I hate Can Do It :P
 
I listened to 7 sinners a couple of times. Was not impressed. If that's the direction they have taken I'll take a hiatus from them. Aside from the Keeper albums (all 3) my favorite is Better Than Raw with Dark Ride a close second. Everything else is very meh. Not bad... just meh. I like it when I listen to it, but it leaves no lasting impression.
 
Well I'm not surprised by the general response to Unarmed. Sometimes it still fells like they're recovering from Chameleon; I don't expect many fans would like Unarmed. And i said they're last 3 (Gambling, Sinners, Hell) are great. Gambling is the most different, and is most in the style of 'classic' helloween power metal. Sinners and SOoH sound more modern. But I think they really liked 7 Sinners themselves, considering SOoH has the same 'sound'. I think they'll be continuing in that direction.

Odd. Was listening to Master of The Rings. I love it, especially Sole Survivor and Secret Alibi. But most of it doesn't really have many Power Metal traits, musically. Seems like from Rabbit up until now, they've been trying a lot harder to be a 'Power Metal' band. They're actually trying to get back to their roots, while being modern. Not just saying it in press releases.
 
Veteran and new alike haven't put out anything noteworthy. Stratovarious's last CD is good, but not great. If I had the disposible income to afford it I would buy it, but it adds nothing new. I appreciate they have remained consistently good since their break from Tolki, but nothing great yet.
 
I'd put Stratovarius in the "still good" category. New young members revitalized them completely.

Helloween on the other hand :yawn: Latest album is pure shit and their setlists choices are incredulous. Gamma Ray has good setlists, but what I heard from the upcoming album isn't really good:

 
I think Helloween is in really great shape right now. Iv been reading articles and interviews with Helloween, and I find it surprising how much Sascha Gerstner doesn't seem to care about power metal. He was never a fan of them before joining, and yes he was in Freedom Call but didn't write for them. Most of the songs he writes are mid-tempo power metal songs though. He doesn't writes songs as good as the ones Roland Grapow wrote though, but I like Open Your Life, Sun4 Your World (good songs on a mediocre album). Church Breaks Down seems to be a favorite off of the new one, but I find it boring other then the solo which is done in a similar way to the one in Invisible Man (his best song).

7 sinners is an interesting album. I love it. I'd say its Helloweens first album that's very much Speed Metal (as opposed to power metal). Iv heard Gambling With The Devil described as their Painkiller, but I think 7 Sinners is better described that way. Straight Out Of Hell branched off from the 7 Sinners style, and infused it with more classic Helloween power metal elements, the songs are more in the style of Keepers songs but heavier and crunchier, like Burning Sun.

I have a question for you Helloween fans: do you like the songs Michael Weikath has been credited with writing recently?
I find he's written a few good ones like The Tune and Buring Sun, but other then those I find all his songs since Rabbit have been very bad. Do You Know What You're Fighting For should not be on a Helloween album, let alone a Keeper album! Can Do It was terrible! Why do the let these on the albums?

And I don't get how so many can say Gambling With The Devil and 7 Sinners are like the Dark Ride. They're really great, but nothing will top Dark Ride.Nothing. Dark Ride is their strongest album, it's soooo disappointing that it broke apart that line-up.

Gamma Ray is boring. I hate when people put them up there next to Helloween. Helloween is all Gamma Ray is and so much more. Just listen to My Life For One More Day.
 
To the question about Weikath: no
Last superb songs he did were pre-Gerstner-era, but I haven't played their recent albums enough to remember what he did. I do remember that Gerstner always wrote one or more per album that were very catchy. This guy has great feel for melody. Also: Markus did some really good things a short while back.
 
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The things is, I actually really love the 2 Weiki wrote for the newest album: Burning Sun and Years, really great power metal songs. One reason they're great is because he's not trying to stick in something different, like a Deep Purple style. Do You Know What You're Fighting For should have been a bonus track for The Legacy. So he's good when he's just writing straight up Helloween Power Metal stuff. I'm surprised so many love Do You Feel Good.
And I don't dislike Gerstner's songs. I just found the 2 he did on Rabbit, 'Open Your Life' and "Sun 4 the World", to be kinda mediocre. So I always have that thought, even though he's actually written so good stuff like Invisible Man, Pleasure Drone etc.


Does anyone notice the kinda off-ness of some of their song titles? Like "Who Is Mr. Madman?", "Not Yet Today", "You Stupid Mankind", "Open You Life" (think of the chorus, Hey Now! Open Your Life!), "Live Now" "You Stupid Mankind", and many more. They use phrases that just sound somewhat odd to a native english speaker like me.
 
NotePad said:
Does anyone notice the kinda off-ness of some of their song titles? Like "Who Is Mr. Madman?", "Not Yet Today", "You Stupid Mankind", "Open You Life" (think of the chorus, Hey Now! Open Your Life!), "Live Now" "You Stupid Mankind", and many more. They use phrases that just sound somewhat odd to a native english speaker like me.
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Yeah, some of them are Denglish, i.e. German idiomology translated directly to English. Others sound stupid to Germans as well.
 
yea, it's odd. I'd assume they would have a better grasp on english by now. But then again, they haven't spent much time in america, until lately when they finally started touring here again! Unlike Maiden, for example, who clearly speak English quite well, all the guys, they spend a lot of time here (i heard the BNW tour was massive).

i'm wondering, does anyone else find Gambling With The Devil has a production sound/mix that sounds hollow and kinda flat? Unlike the fuller sound of other albums, like the new one? I'm wondering if it's just the version i have.
 
NotePad said:
i'm wondering, does anyone else find Gambling With The Devil has a production sound/mix that sounds hollow and kinda flat? Unlike the fuller sound of other albums, like the new one? I'm wondering if it's just the version i have.
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I've heard some bad production wise versions of Gambling with the Devil but I've also heard some that are much much better and fuller. It might just be your copy.
 
Damn. I really like Gambling, but the production sound brings it down for me and I can't enjoy it as much as I'd like to.
 
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