Kev Rowland I still remember the impact Helloween’s debut album ‘Walls of Jericho’ made back in 1985, and when they followed it up with the ‘Keeper’ albums the world literally was their oyster. They may have produced one of the worst album titles and covers of all time, ‘Pink Bubbles Go Ape’, but they have been incredibly consistent in both output and line-up (although they did misplace two key members in Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen). When this album was released in 2015 it still featured two founder members, and everyone involved had been in the band for at least 10 years. This is one of those Helloween albums when it does exactly what it says on the tin, namely one expects cheesy over the top commercial power metal with plenty of fast passages, strong vocals and an impression that the band and the fans are sharing the same joke. It is as if grunge never happened, with black, thrash and death metal all taking themselves way too seriously and instead they are going to repeat “We’re going to stay crazy” (in “Stay Crazy”) until everyone else finds themselves doing exactly the same thing.

It is comic book, commercial, and everything one expects from Helloween. Will it set the world alight like their first three albums? No. Will it gain them any new fans? Only if they haven’t heard anything else so newbies use this as an introduction and work backwards. Will it please their fanbase? Oh yes, this is Helloween through and through. After playing it I can’t remember any of the songs, but while it was on I was smiling and it was an enjoyable romp. If I am going to choose any Helloween from the groaning racks it will be the early albums as opposed to this, but it certainly sits in well with their output over the years.

Kingcrimsonprog Its 2015, the German Power Metal legends Helloween have released their 15th full-length studio album proper, not counting EPs or compilations or the symphonic Unarmed album. It is their fifth consecutive release with the same stable line-up (a big deal for a band who’ve had such a turnover of musicians in their time), and their tenth overall with Andi Deris fronting the band (making that now twice as many Helloween albums with him as without him). It was produced by Power Metal producer extraordinaire Charlie Bauerfeind (Freedom Call, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Primal Fear, Hammerfall) and released through Nuclear Blast. The version I got came in a 3D lenticular box with bonus tracks although there are many versions available.

My God-Given Right very much picks up where the last couple of Helloween albums left off. Sometimes Helloween make a change-up to their sound for about half-an album, like on The Dark Ride or 7 Sinners being heavier, or Rabbit Don’t Come Easy being more experimental, but this isn’t one of those times. This is the core Helloween sound through and through. It wouldn’t be too mean spirited to say “you’ve heard most of these songs before” because it just lets you know that you are getting what you want: fun, melodic, cheesy, commercial Power Metal with a bit of a sense of humour.

There are moments where they throw in piano, synths or mess around with progressive structures – but mostly its driving, fun Power Metal in a mix of tempos. You get the more Hard Rock flavoured single, the slower more ballady track, the balls-out fast paced track, and the rest of it is what I’d call the medium Deris Helloween sound (which is exactly what I wanted, expected and appreciate having). If you are a fan of any album since Master Of The Rings, and the albums since Keeper’ The Legacy in particular, you’re going to love it!

The highlights for me are ‘Russian Roulé,’ ‘Living On The Edge’ (which I always feel like its called ‘Carry On’ since that’s the main chant in the chorus) and the very fun, and very very cheesy ‘If God Loves Rock And Roll’ which has the best chorus on the album, and a deliciously silly breakdown in the centre which I should hate but absolutely love for some reason. The bonus tracks too are very good, being a bit more experimental and in a slightly different mood to the rest of the record, making a nice little contrast at the end.

The band have been on a roll for the last few albums, each one in turn could be called a career highlight or have the “…the best album since” tag applied to it, and this is no different. This is a perfect Helloween album. No filler, no messing about, nothing worth skipping, just an album chocked full of giving the people what they want and somehow not feeling tired or like they’re repeating themselves, something this band have a real knack for. I’m biased, I know, but I highly recommend checking out this album, and have nothing negative to say about it whatsoever – get yourself a copy and enjoy the pumpkin-y goodness.