SilentScream213 Helloween’s last album, Master of the Rings, was a comeback album returning to pure Power Metal, featuring line up changes after the maligned yet underrated Pink Bubbles and Chameleon. On The Time of the Oath, Helloween double down on this and deliver (in my opinion) an amazing album that easily rivals the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums.

We Burn is a blistering album opener that is perhaps the best song of their entire career up to that point, and plainly one of the best Power Metal songs period. The guitars are wild, twisting like melodic lightning as the nonstop double bass drumming lays down some intense power. The soaring, layered vocals are not without edge, and the bass has some truly funky noodling of its own. Plainly said, the song is a masterpiece.

Now, every following song doesn’t quite match that astounding opener, but almost all of them feature fantastic work from each member. I know people hold the Seven Keys albums in a very special place as some of the earliest great works in Power Metal, but the fact is that the band have never sounded as good as they do here. This album is the peak of their ability and songwriting so far, and the production is super clear, fantastically mixed so that you can hear those wonderful basslines and each layer of melodic guitar, without sounding overproduced or modern in any way.

Kingcrimsonprog 1996′s Time Of The Oath is the seventh full-length studio album by the German Power Metal band Helloween. It was the second studio album with singer Andi Derris and drummer Uli Kush, and was dedicated to the memory of ex-Helloween drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg who passed away before the album’s release.

The cover artwork evokes the previous Helloween albums Keeper Of The Seven Keys and Master Of The Rings; which isn’t a bad way to think about the content within.

After the band’s classic and genre-defining Keeper Of The Seven Keys 1&2 albums, the band changed directions with Pink Bubbles Go Ape and Chameleon. Master Of The Rings saw the band stepping back a little to the direction the fans wanted while also trying new ideas as well and with Time Of The Oath, the band mix the best of the old and new styles and really nail down one of their best directions, performances and albums overall.

The album is absolutely chocked full of quality songs, some of the best in the band’s career.

There are some brilliant ragers like “We Burn” “Steel Tormentor” “Before The War” and the concert favourite “Power.” There’s the two great multi-part numbers “Mission Motherland” and the Title Track. Then of course there’s the bouncy and incredibly fun, (if a little silly) “Anything My Momma Don’t Like.”

If you like guitar solos, melodic vocals and speedy drums, then this album is really worth checking out. It may take a while to get used to, especially if you haven’t heard Derris-Helloween before, but it really rewards perseverance. No Power Metal fan should be without it.

Overall; Time Of The Oath is one of the best Helloween albums to date. It contains a good mixture of the band’s Thrashier, Slower and More Melodic material all in one package. It’s a real grower and gets better with each repeat listen.

Warthur Featuring the iconic Keeper of the Seven Keys character on the cover of Time of the Oath was a ballsy move on the part of Helloween - after all, the two Keeper albums are not only a revered part of their discography, but were also immediately followed by some less widely-praised albums. Giving such prominence to the Keeper this time around implied a promise of a return to form, and this second album to feature Andi Denis on vocals is certainly a solid power metal release. It doesn't quite feel as original as the two Keeper of the Seven Keys albums - not least because an awful lot of bands were playing this style of power metal by this point in time - but it combines entertaining cheese with solid performances. Not essential, but far from an embarrassment, I wouldn't prioritise this above the classic Keeper albums but if you really dig them it's worth a listen or two.