Helloween - Straight Out Of Hell (2013) (Premium Ltd. Ed.)

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Helloween - Straight Out Of Hell (2013) (Premium Ltd. Ed.)

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After it's heyday in the late 90's/early 00's, power metal seems to have declined a lot in quality, for many of the newest releases by big name bands lack the originality and memorable songwriting of their older records. (Sonata Arctica, Nightwish and Edguy come to mind, among others). However, I find Helloween to be one of the biggest exceptions to that rule, as their albums with vocalist Andi Deris have just been increasing in quality over time; still sounding unmistakably Helloween, but developing a style and charisma of their own. This newest release "Straight Out of Hell" just confirms that notion.

The album consists mostly of fast and melodic power metal songs in typical Helloween fashion; in contrast to the previous release 7 Sinners, which pointed towars a heavier, less melodic direction. While that album was also solid, I'm really glad that they didn't venture more into that direction and went back to their trademark uplifting style, which is really what they do best. Since the opening song "Nabateae", I couldn't help but smile at that feeling that I call the "Helloween charm", it's like talking again to a very dear friend you haven't seen in some time, and that warm feeling of familiarity just confirms that Deris-era Helloween has become as distinguishable and enjoyable to me (and many fans I think) as their Kiske-era albums.

Speaking of Nabateae, this is one of the best singles the band has put out I think. The song lasts more than 7 minutes but never feels boring, which is difficult to accomplish; and it isn't really a long "epic" in the vein of Keeper of the Seven Keys or Halloween, feeling instead like a straightforward hit song that happens to last very long and stay enjoyable through its length. A very good example of Deris-era Helloween fulfilling its potential.

The other single is Michael Weikath's excellent "Burning Sun"; and it goes to show that the band hasn't really mellowed that much, as the song hits really hard and is one of the most intense in the album. It displays a very good balance between the melody of earlier releases and the heaviness of 7 Sinners; topped with a ridiculously catchy chorus. Weiki's other composition for the album is "Years", which I also enjoyed inmensely and found a little similar in style to The Dark Ride's "Salvation" (one of my personal favorites).

Speaking of The Dark Ride, the mid-tempo "Waiting for the Thunder" reminded me a lot of said album's "If I Could Fly" with it's keyboard driven-melody and slightly nostalgic feel. Another highlights include the title track and "World of War", which also shows a cool mixture of crunchy heaviness in the verses and anthemic melodies in the chorus. There is also the joke/novelty song "Asshole", which many people seem to dislike but I enjoyed for it's sillyness and pop-like catchiness; while it'd be annoying to have an album full of songs like this (see "Chameleon"), having just one is really fine to get a little rest from the straightforward power metal of the rest of the disc.

The album also has its flaws, for I find the other pop-oriented song "Live Now!" a little lackluster and the only ballad "Hold Me In Your Arms" kind of boring; while "Wanna Be God" seems like obvious filler/bonus track material to me. Another flaw is the production, as the instruments sound a little muffled and the songs could have benefited from a more organic sound.

However, the songwriting makes up for said flaws and overall I enjoyed this album a lot; I'd place it among my favorite albums from this band, standing alongside "The Dark Ride" as my favorites from the Deris-era.

~ http://www.metal-archives.com