Helloween
- Thread starter metal71
- Start date
Wings of a dream
Member
Wings of a dream
Member
YtseJammer
Member
Dare I ask who put Helloween as "SUPPORT STATUS"..Are you kidding me?? Of all the bands to ever grace the Progpower stage, Helloween should be at the top of the list. Helloween IS power metal just like Dream Theater is Progressive Metal. And the reason why I think DT should NOT play Progpower is because they do tour the country regularly..hell, every year....and they hit almost everywhere when they come around.
Mephistopheles
The Answer You Seek
Wings of a dream
Member
97reb
doom classic
Yeah, Helloween do have some real crap. But, they were having problems back in the early to mid nineties. The First three albums and the last three or four are great. I mean, the song "Halloween", you can't get much more epic than that. I Want Out, Ride The Sky, Future World - Classics!!!
ProgMetalFan
In the attic
Jim LotFP
The Keeper of Metal
I really wouldn't touch these guys at ALL without knowing what the new lineup's come up with... what if they've gone all Chameleon on us again?
Mephistopheles
The Answer You Seek
I listened to Master of the Rings or whatever and didn't like it that much. I heard Chameleon is one of their better albums. have i been misinformed?
You have been badly misinformed. Chameleon is their WORST album ever. Try Keeper of Seven Keys Pt. I % II to get a taste of older Helloween (two classic power metal albums) and try out The Dark Ride and The Time of the Oath (two albums of the new era).
Wings of a dream
Member
Bottom line is that Helloween were innovators and deserve respect no matter what people may think of them now. They created so many classics, and did so over 15 years ago! They get my vote every year; what an amazing f'n band. Just look at their longevity; that alone should tell you something about this bands drive and determination. Let's not speak foolishly here.
While I agree the Keepers albums are definately more of the 'definitive' Helloween sound, I think Chameleon deserves a lot of credit. People don't understand that album for what it is. I read an interview with Michael Weikath where he explained that the Chameleon album was really just like what KISS did with their 4 solo albums, all released under the KISS name. If you look at the song credits on any other Helloween album, you'll see that a lot of songs are co-written by 2 or more members. On Chameleon, every song was submitted by a single individual, with no input from the other members. It's really not a band record, but a collection of solo material from 4 different members. Furthermore, the album came out at a time when Helloween were involved in a dispute with their old label. Notice how their records got a lot easier to find in the US after Chameleon? I suspect they wanted to finish their contract and change labels, and perhaps piss off their former label at the same time. I would probably like it a lot less if it were one of only 2 or 3 albums, but in the context of several albums, I don't mind a one-time departure to try something bold and fresh, as long as they revisit their classic souns afterwards, which they did. Their follow up to Chameleon, Master Of Rings, is one of their heaviest albums to date.
Just my thoughts....
...but my favorite album from them, other than Keepers pt. 1, is Dark Ride.
What a shame that Weikath can't (or won't) keep this band together, after they finally put it all together. Losing Grapow & Kusch is a huge blow--the best material on Dark Ride was written by those two and Deris.
I'm not sure Weikath has anything more to say musically. His writing efforts of late have been cliche' and lame. The two songs he wrote on Dark Ride, All Over the Nations and Salvation, are IMHO the two most forgettable. Everything else on that album totally & completely screams.
As far as PP4 is concerned, has Helloween even recruited new members yet? It would be kinda hard to have a concert without a drummer you know
--S
What a shame that Weikath can't (or won't) keep this band together, after they finally put it all together. Losing Grapow & Kusch is a huge blow--the best material on Dark Ride was written by those two and Deris.
I'm not sure Weikath has anything more to say musically. His writing efforts of late have been cliche' and lame. The two songs he wrote on Dark Ride, All Over the Nations and Salvation, are IMHO the two most forgettable. Everything else on that album totally & completely screams.
As far as PP4 is concerned, has Helloween even recruited new members yet? It would be kinda hard to have a concert without a drummer you know
--S
Helloween do have a new drummer, Mark Cross from Metalium. However, as they are working on their next album as I type this, they have enlisted the services of Mickey Dee (Motorhead, King Diamond) for the studio work, as Cross has come down with mono and will be recovering for a few months' time yet. As for the guitar spot, word has it they hired former Freedom Call guitarist Sasha ?? (forget the last name), but there has been no info posted on their site reguarding that, so who knows? Maybe Roland Grapow can be brought in to do the recording.
I know they were thinking about Henjo from Gamma Ray for guitars, but he eventually turned them down. That would have been a fine choice.
Mickey Dee would be great as permanent drummer, not just a studio fix. Good to see him doing some stuff away from Motorhead.
I have to admit, I'm rather skeptical right now about Helloween. Dark Ride struck me as a refreshing, well-orchestrated break from their usual style. Now it seems Weikath wants to return the band to their earlier style. I like Time of the Oath and Better than Raw just fine, don't get me wrong. But I'm just not sure I need to hear another CD in that style from Helloween. I was enjoying their new stuff...
Oh well, nothing to do but wait and see what they come up with
--S
Mickey Dee would be great as permanent drummer, not just a studio fix. Good to see him doing some stuff away from Motorhead.
I have to admit, I'm rather skeptical right now about Helloween. Dark Ride struck me as a refreshing, well-orchestrated break from their usual style. Now it seems Weikath wants to return the band to their earlier style. I like Time of the Oath and Better than Raw just fine, don't get me wrong. But I'm just not sure I need to hear another CD in that style from Helloween. I was enjoying their new stuff...
Oh well, nothing to do but wait and see what they come up with
--S
Similar threads
