Legendary German power metallers HELLOWEEN have posted the first in a series of track-by-track breakdowns for their new album, My God-Given Right.
According to singer Andi Deris, the band insists on a simple motto: “Back to the roots — but with new songs.” He continues: “More than ever, our fans want to sing and rock out along with us. This simply works best with the use of distinctive choruses and ’80s hooklines.”
Guitarist Michael Weikath clarifies: “It is not our mission to just relive the ’80s at all cost — to our own surprise, the whole dynamic of this working concept took on a life of its own.”
Both Weikath and Deris stress that the album title is self-explanatory. “Surely there’ll be haters again that will presume that we have nothing better to do than to keep recycling the past instead of moving on into the 21st century,” the guitarist says. “But such critics have followed us all along and never impressed us. We’ve always had a liberal attitude towards heavy metal: to do anything we want — and not follow the directions the know-it-alls would have pushed on us. We remained unfazed and acted out our vision of ‘anything goes’ in the songwriting process to ‘My God-Given Right’ because we believe that it is our god-given-right (no pun intended) to do as we please and fulfill our musical vision without any boundaries.”
My God-Given Right track listing:
1. Heroes
2. Battle’s Won
3. My God-Given Right
4. Stay Crazy
5. Lost In America
6. Russian Roulé
7. The Swing Of A Fallen World
8. Like Everybody Else
9. Creatures In Heaven
10. If God Loves Rock ‘N’ Roll
11. Living On The Edge
12. Claws
13. You, Still Of War
The limited digipak (with special 3D cover) and the vinyl version will feature two bonus tracks:
14. I Wish I Were There
15. Wicked Game
The digital version contains three bonus tracks:
14. I Wish I Were There
15. Wicked Game
16. Free World
The limited earbook will feature a bonus CD with four bonus tracks:
1. I Wish I Were There
2. Wicked Game
3. Nightmare
4. More Than A Lifetime