Helloween & Gamma Ray

Waaay too much Eagle Fly Free recycling (again).

I just saw that Weikath wrote only 2 songs on 7 Sinners and Straight Out of Hell. Good job Weiki.

Dr. Stein is no top Helloween, but still among the better Weiki songs imo. I especially like the solos. Very cool part.
 
I'm surprised to see the popularity of "Falling Higher". I really think it is unimaginative and one of my least favorite from Better than Raw. On the other hand, I think "Laudate Dominum" is great. My favorite from this album is probably "Midnight Sun". If there were an "Unpopular Helloween Opinion", I would say I love "Anything My Mama Don't Like"! ;)

Forostar said:
Dr. Stein is no top Helloween
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Yes, it is! :)
 
Night Prowler said:
o_O That's one of the cringiest power metal songs ever IMO.


You actually think those songs are better than, say:
Rebellion In Dreamland
Somewhere Out In Space
Beyond The Black Hole
Anywhere In The Galaxy
Dethrone Tyranny

And you also forgot many Weikath stinkers like:
Laudate Dominum
The Tune
Nothing To Say
Get It Up
Can Do It
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I love The Tune. Classic Helloween. And I also really liked Nothing To Say. I admit it's odd but I like it. As for 'Can Do It', well, in the context of that particular album it sounds verrrrry out of place, but I now really enjoy it.
 
The Helloween gig in London on Wednesday was really good. Here's the setlist: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/helloween/2016/o2-forum-kentish-town-london-england-4bf3cb2a.html

They had a good mix of songs from throughout their career, so it wasn't a nostalgia Play Classics! set which I was worried about. Even the songs from 'Straight Out of Hell' sounded pretty good. It was nice to finally see Helloween as I'd been waiting for quite a few years. The last time they played in London I was living in Birmingham but decided not to go to the show as I had loads of exams to prepare for, so I was happy that they came back when I lived in England again. Their music has become somewhat stale in recent years and they seem to just release albums for the sake of it, but at least they can put on a good live show. :)
 
I've been a big Helloween fan for awhile now, but mostly of the Deris era. I feel they've really mastered their sound, the classic Helloween power metal style with him. Straight out of Hell is classic Power Metal, just not fantasy based and prefer that.

But I've never been a big fan of Walls of Jericho. Mostly because of Man's voice back then. It's interesting because they were going for a thrash style with that album, but then changed course when Kisked joined and made one of the most influential pairs of metal albums ever. But I've been hearing lately a lot about the influence of WoJ on bands and I find this interesting because musically WoJ doesn't really stand out as anything unique, unlike the Keepers albums with stood out as a new take on classic metal,. Power Metal. Is there anyone here who prefers WoJ and why? I'd like to start a discussion about Helloween's influence.
 
The good thing about Walls of Jericho is that it is (as) aggressive (as trash) but also has a lot of melody that lots of other bands lacked around that time. Aggression and so much melody in such fast music, that was rather new. How they implemented guitar harmonies was also new. Add songwriting talent and you get a list of memorable songs (not all, but a lot). Hansen lacked the (typical) German accent most of his fellow countrymen had (and have). His screams were important, they fit the music very well.

Keepers was better (or at least cleaner) produced, featured a singer who was more agile in singing melodies and he could sing high, effortlessly. Of course the lengthy epics, and the addition of bombast (keyboards) made a big difference as well. Still, the biggest difference imo is the singer and less aggression (and less raw sound). It made the music more accessible.

I value both albums (or all three albums ;) ) for their different aspects. Just as in Maiden, I really love the raw debut, but also (e.g.) the Seventh Son album.
 
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Musically, I think Walls of Jericho was really great. The guitar work was awesome. But the vocals really bring it down. I think Blind Guardian did a much better version of WoJ with their first couple albums.

Speaking of Maiden, do you hear a Maiden influence on WoJ? Because I don't. I think Kai was influenced by early thrash, and Weiki was influenced by Priest and Accept, and that's how WoJ came to be. I think with the Keepers albums they had a much better idea of what they wanted, which is a sound that's like a natural progression from stuff like Priest and Maiden.

I've just always been curious how much influence Maiden had on the Keepers albums. I suspect Judas Priest was much more of an inspiration for them back then.

And speaking of influence, I don't think a lot of people realize how influential Helloween has been on the metal scene, especially Keepers albums.
 
I haven't heard the new Gamma Ray singer yet, but I think it's really lame they've done that. He'll apparently be on the next album too. At this it's just a weird move, and vocalist changes are a very risky thing. Kai's voice is the sound of Gamma Ray.
 
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/gamma-ray-kai-hansen-xxx-three-decades-in-metal-audio-samples/
Tracklist info looks and samples sound good, even better than the last three or four GR albums!
Glad to see Piet and Ralf and Kiske, but Weiki and Roland are also part of this!

"XXX - Three Decades In Metal" track listing:

01. Born Free
02. Enemies Of Fun (featuring Ralf Scheepers & Piet Sielck)
03. Contract Sun (featuring Dee Snider & Steve McT as The Manger)
04. Making Headlines (featuring Tobias Sammet)
05. Stranger In Time (featuring Michael Kiske, Frank Beck, Tobias Sammet & Roland Grapow - guitar solo)
06. Fire And Ice (featuring Clémentine Delauney, Marcus Bischoff, Richard Sjunnesson & Michael Weikath - guitar solo)
07. Left Behind (featuring Alexander Dietz & Clémentine Delauney)
08. All Or Nothing (featuring Clémentine Delauney)
09. Burning Bridges (featuring Eike Freese)
10. Follow The Sun (featuring Hansi Kürsch & Tim Hansen - guitar solo)


 
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Bought XXX - Three Decades of Metal. Okay, it has some blatant stealing again (Priest, Maiden, Halford), but it mostly has a lot of enjoyable and fresh music. Still need to play the 2nd disc which are pre-productions with Kai doing all vocals. Weikath plays a wonderful solo on All or Nothing, which might be the best song. Unfortunately there is an unnecessary Silent Screams (Halford) rip off part in the middle. Even though it isn't that long, it's still somewhat of a stain. Without it, it would be one of the best songs I've heard in years. Conclusion: Recommended big time! This record is better than 21st century Gamma Ray. I'd like to say: use these songwriters more often, Kai!
 
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Not saying I dislike it (certainly not as intensely as you seem to do!) but the single isn't that representative. The album has variation, memorable melodies and nice vocal contributions by guests.
Dityn DJ James said:
Wow, sounds pretty good. Would you say it's better than No World Order or even Majestic @Forostar ?
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I would need to play these to be sure, to be frank. But with this release out, I have absolutely no urge to do that. I've become disappointed with Gamma Ray over the years. Certainly in the light of what came after, this sounds very good. But judged on its own this is a fine metal release as well.
 
I do need to warn you a bit by saying that it does have more slower tempo songs than the usual GR/power metal album. The album closer is one of the best power metal songs I've heard in ages though. Great chorus with Hansi Kürsch.
 
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