Helloween- Unarmed-25th anniverary album

[Jasonic]

Those who just wants to hear Andi sing the "normal" version of the song(s) should go listen to the live discs and DVDs.

Live is one thing.
I would like to hear how Andi fairs recording these songs.

As I said, it might breathe new life into these classics.

Sure, the live versions are good, but they really don't offer any experimentation in approach.

What they are doing now is just a bit TOO off the wall.

 

[Daybreaker]

I think the cover art is one of the coolest ones they've had in years. They finally got someone to do CG crap right. I would sport a shirt of that artwork any day over Rabbit, or the 1997 CG of Keeper III.

And I like the new Future World. But man, I'm still kinda hesitant about this release other than those two highlights.

 

[Claus / Intromental]

Live is one thing.
I would like to hear how Andi fairs recording these songs.

As I said, it might breathe new life into these classics.

Sure, the live versions are good, but they really don't offer any experimentation in approach.

What they are doing now is just a bit TOO off the wall.

Excuse me? Are you arguing with me? Didn't I just tell you that my opinion is the only one that matters?


Quote from "The Office": "So suck it. Hey everybody, I just invited Jim to suck it."

 

[Jasonic]

Well, you know what they say!
Opinions are like assholes..............

Everyone has one and they both stink!
(Except mine)

 

[booB]

LOL!!! Thanks Claus!

 

[musicsnob]

I'm with boB on this one. Looks interesting. Strange that a group of people who purport to like "progressive" music freak out when a band actually tries something genre-busting.

 

[No-Mercy]

i actually really like some of this, especially some of the vocal changes. ill be buying a few songs.

i dont think anybody should stop being a fan. they have created some great music throughout their career...they are just doing what they love. so they put a different spin on it to try it out.

if they enjoy what they are doing and it makes them feel good, which is what music is ultimately about, i say good for them.

 

[Matt Crooks]

I can understand maybe redoing the Deris stuff, albeit NOT scaled down acoustic-like but heavy but please leave the Kiske stuff alone for crying out loud!

Well Kiske was the third best singer Helloween ever had, so having Deris redo his stuff is great!

This is obviously just a fun thing that Helloween wanted to do for their fans on their anniversary. It's not a metal album, and as such, it's not going to be for everyone, but I can't accept that the more musically-eclectic of this bunch would hate this album so much. The songs are very well done for what they are -- the only clips I didn't care for much were "Keepers" and "Perfect Gentleman". Certainly it beats the hell out of everything the band has done since The Dark Ride.

Kudos to Helloween for doing something different in order to keep things fresh and interesting. If you want to hear METAL versions of these songs, then go listen to the originals.

Call me crazy, but Bon Jovi's fanbase didn't shit on them this badly when they released This Left Feels Right, did they?

I agree with you 100%... and I do think the BJ's fanbase shit on them a lot for TLFR, but maybe not as much as this

 

[dcowboys311]

Reminds me of [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1Zmkevry5g&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

 

[Matt Crooks]

Haha! I thought of this:

 

[ratanda]

Haha! I thought of this:

Haha That was pretty clever!

 

[DAVETHEMETALGUY]

crap! that sucks

 

[nomisofsiman]

The main issue I have is that Helloween are going to do 2 things with this release:
1) Lose long time fans that have been on the fence about them in recent years
2) NOT gain any new fans in the process

They could have generated a lot of positive hype for the band if they just went in and did honest versions of the songs with Deris on vocals. It would have given new life to great classic Helloween material. Sure, they could have had a little fun with it, but I personally think they went over the top.

I have been a Helloween supporter since Keepers I.
I did lose sight of them with Pink Bubbles and Chameleon, as those were not initially released here in the states, and that was before the internet.

I remember first seeing Pink Bubbles at a record convention, as a Japanese import, which is the copy I still own today.

I think long running bands have to be careful.

Sure, longtime diehard fans like myself are not going to turn their backs on the band for this, but casual fans will. Every long running band has as part of their fanbase folks who are only interested in classic material. I know for the past couple Helloween shows I was at, there were MANY people who only knew the Keepers I and II material, and that is it!

I think if they did honest re-recordings of these songs, it would help introduce Deris to some of those long time fans who have not purchased the Deris era material. Sure, those of us on these forums who have our ear more in tune with the current scene might at first go, "How can there be Helloween fans who haven't heard the Deris material??" I am saying there are PLENTY!

Just like there are many Slayer fans who go to their shows but haven't purchased an album of theirs since Reign In Blood or South of Heaven.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but as a long time fan, I could not remain silent.

I fully endorse this. Like many have been saying, if this simply was a second disc in a special edition of a new album of theirs, it wouldn't be a problem but by just releasing this as a full release, as you say it will lose casual fans and possibly others who are dumb and think they're going the "Chameleon" route again.

I've never fully been a fan of a band re-recording material, but this probably would've been a better idea to just do new versions with the members with their typical sound to introduce to newer fans. Possibly, it might have been a better idea to have this a 2 disc, where one disc is straight up more modern sounding versions and the latter be what this collection is ultimately going to be, having some fun with their material.

 

[The Colorado Kid]

As a Helloween fan I am MAJORLY disappointed in this abomination that this CD represents. WHY oh WHY would you redo these songs this way? Well....check it out below and I'll leave it up to you to decide.

The only real Helloween was Keepers 1 and 2. Everything else sucks monkey balls.

 

[nomisofsiman]

The only real Helloween was Keepers 1 and 2. Everything else sucks monkey balls.

In other words, you're a Kiske/Hansen exclusive fan then. I think the only ones that suck are Pink Bubbles Go Ape, Chameleon, Rabbit Don't Come Easy and depending on your point of view, Metal Jukebox (though I take it for what it is as most of that album is an intentional joke). To each his own I guess. Personally, I think Deris is a more talented singer due to his variety whereas while I like Kiske's, he pretty much can go high and that's about it.

 

[MYSTIC1]

UUGGHHH!!!!! I just listened to a few tracks on Youtube. This is an abomination if there ever was one. I've been a huge fan of theirs since WOJ and I still am to this day. I can appreciate their sense of humor except for Chameleon and Pink Bubbles. I agree with many others in that, if they wanna have fun like this then save it for a bonus track, DVD outtakes, etc. Don't release it as an entire album. I know that many people have thought of these guys as a joke before but now after hearing these tracks I'm sure that there will be even more haters. However, I am a true fan of the band and even I can look past this. Start working on your next album guys!!!

 

[Claus / Intromental]

I can appreciate their sense of humor except for Chameleon ...

What "humoristic" parts did you find in Chameleon? That album is a very thought-out disc in my opinion, and besides a song like "Crazy Cat" I don't think there's much fun to that disc. Brilliant album btw.

 

[MYSTIC1]

IDK, Maybe I just thought it sucked so bad that you'd need to have a sense of humor to appreciate it............... If you liked it, I can respect that too.

 

[Sumeet]

Interesting. Though I am a long-time Helloween fan, I haven't been keeping up with the music scene the last couple years as closely as I used to, and I had no idea whatsoever about the recording or release of this album, until I saw a message about it yesterday on another board, then here. So I didn't come into it with any expectations at all. I quickly determined however, simply by looking at the tracklist, that it was re-recorded versions of previous songs... so I immediately put it in the "non studio album" category. Given this, I actually found some of the wacky interpretations of these classic metal songs to be pretty entertaining. I think boB definitely hit upon something when he suggested that a lot of people had a lot of expectations built up that these were going to be some sort of Gamma Ray Blast From The Past type re-recordings, and then when they finally heard it, it was so jarringly different from what was expected that it created a massive "WTF!?" scenario for some. Now, I'm not saying everyone who thought "WTF!?" would have otherwise automatically liked these goofy reworkings, mind you, just that the reactions would have been less vociferous than they seem to be in this thread. It's also interesting that several people are apparently going to buy it even though they don't like it, just because it's Helloween, whereas I'm not going to buy it, even though I actually kinda enjoy it. Heh. Either way, I think everyone understands that this is just a compilation of re-recordings... it's not a harbinger of a long-term style shift towards jazzy pop, and it's not the actual followup to Gambling With The Devil... and it's probably safe to assume their next actual studio album will indeed be a metal album.

 

[adaher]

I've heard two whole songs now(Future World and the Keeper Trilogy) and I think this actually rules. It's not an unplugged album, nor is it a metal album. It's just a bunch of really, really eccentric arrangements of classic Helloween songs. And it's awesome, and not just as a novelty.

I don't expect that all, or even most Helloween fans will agree, but a co-worker listening as I was listening thought it was really awesome. A lot of metal bands write really great songs but people who aren't accustomed to the heaviness don't hear that, it's all a wall of sound to them. This album really brings out how good Helloween's songwriting is in a way that non-metal fans can enjoy.