Helloween & Gamma Ray

Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray topic

I think Somewhere Out in Space was the last GREAT Gamma Ray album. The last great Helloween album.... I just can't remember. Whe did Kiske leave again?
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray topic

I think Better Than Raw is "great" and that's 1998 or so. It only has a couple of weak tracks and even those are pretty good.
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray topic

Lately (members of) these bands are often discussed and I hope that the following idea might be nice to do.
I'd like to do a megapoll of the studio albums by Helloween & Gamma Ray, but a bit different from the usual concept.

Every Sunday (or another day) I will randomly name one album of one of these bands. This gives people a week time to decide their favourite 3 songs from that record. So please select your favourite songs, in order: 1, 2, 3.

If people would like to eleborate on their selection that will be appreciated. If not, it's not the most terrible thing, since this is part of a bigger topic, and there are so many rounds that I can understand that people could become tired of explaining. So don't let this discourage you.

I realize that there are many expanded/special editions of these albums. You can chose any track you like, as long it's from the era belong to this record.

The week is not a limit:
Of course it's allowed to answer later if someone doesn't know a particular album well enough or not at all. No problem. My advice to everyone: give yourself enough time to decide which three you'll pick by giving the album enough chance/spins.

In the end when all albums are done, I'd like to present an overview of the most popular Helloween & Gamma Ray songs chosen by this forum.

If people would like to orientate/buy/download/listen beforehand, here is the list of all albums* involved, followed by the first chosen album.

Helloween
1. Helloween (1985) (Though an EP, officially considered as a mini-LP)
2. Walls of Jericho (1985)
3. Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1 (1987)
4. Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 2 (1988)
5. Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991)
6. Chameleon (1993)
7. Master of the Rings (1994)
8. The Time of the Oath (1996)
9. Better Than Raw (1998)
10. The Dark Ride (2000)
11. Rabbit Don't Come Easy (2003)
12. Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy (2005)
13. Gambling with the Devil (2007)

Gamma Ray
1. Heading for Tomorrow (1990)
2. Sigh No More (1991)
3. Insanity and Genius (1993)
4. Land of the Free (1995)
5. Somewhere Out in Space (1997)
6. Power Plant (1999)
7. No World Order (2001)
8. Majestic (2005)
9. Land of the Free II (2007)

*Albums in bold letters mean that they have been selected.

It would be cool if you would like to participate! Many thanks in advance for taking part!  :ok:
Here we go:

Album 1: Helloween - The Time of the Oath (1996)
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

Onhell said:
I think Better Than Raw is "great" and that's 1998 or so. It only has a couple of weak tracks and even those are pretty good.
Click to expand...
Yeah I can't argue with that one really its still not as good as some of the early albums and dont get me started on Keeper part 3
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

Time of The Oath, a good, but forgettable album. the only song I really like and can recall quickly is the title track. After that Steel Tormentor, Kings will be Kings, but not much else. I liked it when I first heard it, but like I said, not that memorable. Good cover though and good follow up to Master of the Rings. The End
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

Similar review to onhell, sort of a mediocre album.  The only songs I really like are "Steel Tormentor", and "The Time of the Oath".
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

Thanks for contributing guys!

However, the main idea is that people who take part name three songs per album, in order. Onhell did this in the form of:

1. The Time of the Oath
2. Steel Tormentor
3. Kings Will Be Kings

So, (Mr.) Torture your ears as long as needed to make thy choice. I will post myself as soon as I have decided on the 3rd pick.
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

Well, it's tough on an album like that to name the 3 best, because there's few good songs, and a lot of mediocre songs.  It almost would've been easier if you choose a complete abomination of an album like Chameleon, because then you just choose the 3 that don't make your ears bleed.
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

I really like this album, quite a lot of nice melodies and solos. In my memory, when it came out, only the sound was criticized in a negative manner. It sounded too compressed. But further it was received very well. And I find that very deserved!

My pick:

1. Steel Tormentor
Imo the best track Weiki's ever written. This tempo, these drums, the guitars, the catchiness of it all, just top notch stuff! This brings back a lot of memories. When I saw this in concert (with Skunkworks as opening act!) the roof went down! Kusch delivered the goods, big time!

2. The Time of The Oath
This track should be played at 10 in the face of the people who think Helloween is only happy metal. NOT! What a riffs, what an atmosphere. I find it one of the best Helloween tracks, written by Mr. Grapow, it was always in the setlist, until Grapow and Kusch left the band.

3. I had different candidates for this one. One of them was "Mission Motherland" because of its epic proportions, great riffs and interesting, quite complex build-up. The song was written by drummer Kusch.
But later I remembered that there was a nice B-side, written by bass player Markus Grosskopf. Often, Markus' songs always had to be B-sides (they finally changed this on the last album, I think), and I really find that rediculous because the dude can write! In this case the track Walk Your Way gets the number 3 position because of its positive lyrics, but above all because of its intruiging mid section, with nice solos and harmonies. Not the most original stuff, but nice classical Helloween the way I like it. If anyone's interested to listen to it, don't hesitate to contact me.
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

They've also rereleased all of their old catalog with bonus tracks, some used to be B-sides which fucks ME over, because I am not repurchasing an entire discography for 4 extra tracks per album.
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

Especially for B-sides. 

Does anyone find it weird when bands totally screw up their rereleased bonus tracks?  Every time I listen to Sin After Sin I wonder why Jawbreaker is at the end of it.
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

And Painkiller has Leather Rebel on it twice.  For ****'s sake, Rust in Peace has two copies of Holy Wars, Take No Prisoners, and Rust in Peace.  I've never been really interested in "extra super energetic rare live versions" or demos.
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

  :S

*Did the Keeper of the Seven Keys take charge of this poll? Will we be beaten against the Walls of Jericho? Is it more than just a Handful of Pain?*
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

I used to be the keeper of the seven keys.... don't recall taking over anything just yet :p
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

Album 2: Helloween - Gambling with the Devil (2007)

I believe a certain Finn knows this one. ;)
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

I do, and I like it, though it seems to have quite a low standing in the eyes of most Helloween fans.  So my top 3:
1. The Bells of the 7 Hells
This has awesome riffs, great chorus, and overall it's a fantastic song.  Plus, it's even better live with the crowd participation part.
2. Kill It
It's a bit darker than many Helloween songs, but other than that I'm not sure why I chose this song.  I just like it.
3. As Long as I Fall
The studio version is annoyingly poppy, but live, it works well. 

I haven't listened to this album in a long time, though.  Will have to do so soon.
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

That was the quickest answer in this poll! Thanks for your feedback, Invader, hope to see you more often!
 
Re: Helloween and Gamma Ray (including weekly poll)

Forostar: since you started this topic, you can edit the first post. Could you please do so on a weekly basis, and put at the very top what this week's album is? It will make it easier for everyone to find it then, instead of having to read through the thread.

Sorry I didn't join in last week. Busy busy week. But I'll join in starting now. I'll go listen to Gambling With The Devil again. I remember liking it the one time I heard it, but I didn't pay close attention.
 
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