By Andrew Bansal
March 7th 2016, The Avalon, Hollywood CA: German power metal veterans Helloween re-signed to Nuclear Blast Records in 2015, after releasing the albums ‘The Dark Ride’ (2000) and ‘Rabbit Don’t Come Easy’ (2003) and then parting ways with the label. Helloween celebrated their return to Nuclear Blast with the release of their fifteenth full-length studio album ‘My God-Given Right’ in May 2015, and announced a very limited 7-show North American winter 2016 headline run. On the final night of this mini-tour, Helloween played to a packed house at the Avalon in Hollywood last Monday March 7th 2016, marking their first appearance in Los Angeles proper (not counting the show at Grove of Anaheim in 2013) since 2008. Even though ‘My God-Given Right’ came across as largely underwhelming to most fans, the entirety of the LA Helloween/power metal fan base bought tickets to this show, in the hope of the live versions of the new material changing their opinion about the band’s latest album, and of course to enjoy some of their favorite classics. Los Angeles was as excited as ever for Helloween’s appearance here, and it remained to be seen whether this comeback turned out to be a triumphant one.
As far as the schedule and lineup was concerned, no information was posted or to be found through any sources online or otherwise, and I was slightly appalled to see the number of messages I had received throughout the day, and even during the show, from ticket holders and potential attendees about what time Helloween were supposed to play, implying that they had more or less zero interest in even finding out who the openers were, leave alone checking them out. If I never took the time to give openers a chance, my musical spectrum would have been limited to four or five bands and this website wouldn’t exist. Anyway, I did see the entire show, and these two openers altogether made for a fruitfully intriguing experience for reasons good and bad.
First up at 8:15, Los Angeles-based quartet Se7en Reasons Why took the stage as the local openers, to put forth their eccentric, spastic brand of ‘folk punk’, via the usage of acoustic-electric guitars and violins along with standard layers of vocals and drums. It seemed like this band knew that their music was by no means up this audience’s alley, and for that a more fitting LA band such as Sirion or Helsott could have better served the purpose, but singer Mick Scott gave it his all and succeeded in delivering an entertaining performance. The guitar work and violin play was also certainly above average, and the drum solo, as it would be discovered later, was in fact better than that of the headline act’s drummer. All in all, an interesting start to the show.
Next up were heavy metal band Them, comprising members from various countries and including in its ranks bassist Mike LePond from Symphony X. The band formed in 2014 and releasing their debut EP ‘Fear Them’ in February 2016. Reliable sources mentioned to me before the set that Them’s sound is very much inspired by that of King Diamond, and they couldn’t have hit the nail any more accurately on the head because Them came across as such a blatant King Diamond ripoff that it was not enjoyable even in the least bit. Full marks to them for the effort put into the performance, production and theatricality, but through every move they made and every stage prop they incorporated into the show, a vast majority of the audience had only one thing on their mind: “I think I’ve seen this before, and on a much larger scale”. As a result, Them completely failed to leave a positive impression with their ‘King Diamond lite’ presentation, and the very existence of this band seems pointless because the talents of these experienced and pedigreed musicians can be better utilized in doing something slightly more original.
By this time the audience was more than ready for the band they really came to see, and sharply at 10 PM, Helloween hit the stage in the best possible manner, with two old-school fan-favorites, beginning with one of their happiest and most victorious tunes ‘Eagle Fly Free’. The vibe in the room had changed completely in an instant, and fans were gleefully singing along with the band about almighty eagles flying freely high in the sky into eternity. ‘Dr. Stein’, also from the ‘Keeper Of The Seven Keys II’ album, served as an equally enjoyable singalong, and the only negative aspect of such a tremendous, high-flying start to the set was what followed next, as the set went steadily downhill with the third song onwards, to such an extent that even a burst of their most loved classics at the very end couldn’t fully rescue it. The new material kicked in and from hailing almighty eagles Helloween descended rapidly into singing about their ‘god-given right’. While the band can certainly be respected for wanting to represent their late ’90s and early and late 2000s discography to make it a comprehensive career-spanning set list, this material simply does not make the same level of impact as the early albums, and specially with ‘My God-Given Right’ truly standing out as one of the band’s weakest efforts ever, the set deteriorated quickly and spectacularly.
As one mediocre latter-years song followed another, matters were made worse with a terribly contrived drum solo which gives James Kottak a run for his money when it comes to bad drum solos. Guitarist Sascha Gertsner, sporting an extremely strange hairdo, did a much better job with his solo later on. Finally at the tail-end of the set, a medley comprising of classics ‘Halloween’, ‘Sole Survivor’ and ‘Keeper Of The Seven Keys’ took the crowd back into delirium, and one can only imagine these fans going completely bananas if all these songs were played in their entirety instead of being combined into this medley of teasers. They ended the show with an encore performance of ‘Before The War’, ‘Future World’ and ‘I Want Out’ with Gertsner’s solo sandwiched in between, but even one of their most popular songs and arguably their finest composition ‘I Want Out’ was rendered bland and boring because of the extended crowd singalong sections, as those waiting for the epic high-octave ending of the song stopped caring about it after the first ten minutes of the mid-song singalong.
Performance-wise and in terms of the turnout, this show undoubtedly beats Helloween’s gig at the Grove of Anaheim in 2013, which drew a mere 100 people and was not the best representation of the band by any means. Diehard and loyal fans seemed to be having a great time here, giving the band an excellent response, and the Avalon served as a good setting for the show. Helloween is an undeniably great band and regardless of the quality of new material, will always maintain their reputation as power metal giants. But truth be told, the song selection left a lot to be desired, and one thing is for sure, if you’re a fan of classic Helloween, it’s best to avoid attending a show on the ‘My God-Given Right’ tour if it hits your part of the world, because there is very little in this set list to justify the ticket prices.
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Set List:
01. Eagle Fly Free
02. Dr. Stein
03. My God-Given Right
04. Steel Tormentor
05. Mr. Torture
06. Waiting for the Thunder
07. Straight Out of Hell
08. Heroes
09. Drum Solo
10. Where the Rain Grows
11. Lost in America
12. Power
13. Forever and One (Neverland)
14. Halloween / Sole Survivor / I Can / Are You Metal? / Keeper of the Seven Keys
Encore:
15. Before The War
16. Guitar Solo
17. Future World
18. I Want Out