By Avinash Mittur
Helloween fans tend to be divided among those who stand solely by the Keeper Of The Seven Keys records and those who love all eras of the band. One thing all of those fans can easily agree on however is the fact that Helloween are at their best when they are extremely focused in their musical direction. The Keepers records, The Dark Ride and 7 Sinners are proof that when Helloween decide on a consistent sound and theme and follow through with it, the results are stellar (Unarmed being the notable exception). Luckily, Straight Out of Hell proves to fall in line with the better records in Helloween’s catalog and is a strong addition to the great discography they have amassed over nearly thirty years.
Helloween have always had a fondness for long songs, but this time the band has left their most progressive tracks to bookend Straight Out Of Hell. “Nabatea” introduces itself with a lick reminiscent of Rainbow’s classic “Gates of Babylon” and goes through a myriad of twists and turns before finishing off with that same melody augmented with some lightning fast beats. Its counterpart, “Church Breaks Down”, alternates high-flying harmonies with wild-eyed thrashing and throws in a vintage guitar duel from Michael Weikath and Sascha Gerstner that should make any power metal fan giddy. More than any other Helloween record in recent memory, the guitarwork on Straight Out Of Hell is absolutely sublime. Beautiful harmonies are abundant throughout the album, and Weiki and Sascha consistently shred in their solos.
The band asserted that the production on Straight Out Of Hell would be rawer than that of 7 Sinners, and surprisingly, Helloween held up their end of the bargain in this regard. The changes are subtle, but Straight Out Of Hell is much better sounding record than its predecessor. The soundstage has been widened, the guitars sound much bigger and the drums sound far more alive compared to the previous record- however, bassist Markus Grosskopf is sadly once again borderline inaudible throughout the album. This is truly a shame, especially since Markus contributes the two best songs on Straight Out Of Hell. His songs “Far From The Stars” and the title track are in the mold of classic Helloween power metal and feature the catchiest choruses on the entire record. “Far From The Stars” in particular is an absolute triumph, and attains a glorious and exultant high that 7 Sinners never even attempted to reach. This song and singer Andi Deris’ “Waiting For The Thunder” also incorporate piano flourishes in a very cool way, and see Helloween continue to expand their songwriting arsenal.
Even though much of Straight Out Of Hell is a thrilling ride, there are occasional missteps. The awkward chugging verses in Sascha’s “World Of War” bring to mind “Long Live The King,” Helloween’s biggest misfire from 7 Sinners, though its fantastic blitzkrieg chorus nearly saves the track. Ironically, Sascha’s ballad “Hold Me In Your Arms” falls flat as well, featuring a musical theme that gets repetitive and boring very fast- the fact that the lyrics that Andi sings throughout barely change doesn’t help. His tribute to Freddie Mercury, “Wanna Be God”, is well-intentioned but ultimately comes off as a chunk of filler in what is already a pretty long album. Luckily though, Andi’s performance on Straight Out Of Hell is once again great, constantly showing off his wide range of expressiveness and unique vocal character without going overboard- let’s try and forget his cacophonic screaming on “The Smile Of The Sun” from the last album.
On the whole, Straight Out Of Hell is another high watermark in Helloween’s latter-day renaissance. Fans who were incensed by Helloween’s darker direction on 7 Sinners are going to find a lot to like about Straight Out Of Hell, and the people who have appreciated their recent thrashy and aggressive take on the genre they pioneered won’t be disappointed by what’s offered here. There are still many fans who maintain that Michael Kiske is the only voice for Helloween- Straight Out Of Hell won’t change their minds, but really it’s their loss. Straight Out Of Hell isn’t perfect, but it kicks a whole lot of butt and it once again reasserts Helloween’s status as the once and future kings of power metal.
Rating: 8.5/10
Record Labels:
The End Records (US)
Sony (Europe)
Release Dates:
January 18th 2013 (Europe)
January 22nd 2013 (US)
Track Listing:
1. Nabataea – 7:03
2. World of War – 4:56
3. Live Now! – 3:10
4. Far from the Stars – 4:41
5. Burning Sun – 5:33
6. Waiting for the Thunder – 3:53
7. Hold me in your Arms – 5:10
8. Wanna be God – 2:02
9. Straight out of Hell – 4:33
10. Asshole – 4:09
11. Years – 4:22
12. Make Fire Catch the Fly – 4:22
13. Church Breaks Down – 6:06
Bonus Tracks (Limited Edition):
14. Another Shot of Life
15. Burning Sun (Hammond version) dedicated to Jon Lord
Links:
helloween.org
twitter.com/helloweenorg
facebook.com/helloweenofficial