July 2021 Album of the Month – Helloween’s Helloween
Tuesday, 17th August 2021
On the heels of a very successful global reunion tour, the one and only Helloween has brought forth what many had been hoping for since the touring began – a brand-new effort that features 3 vocalists from the band’s history, 3 guitarists, and a slew of songwriters. While it could have ended up being a messy and overly packed effort, the band clearly took the time to embrace everything surrounding them, worked together, and created something that will stand up the band’s impressive legacy. A reunion done right, indeed.
An excerpt from Matt Coe’s 10/10 review, which posted on July 7, 2021:
Metalheads dream, scheme, and debate lists of the past, present and future in every category imaginable. Considering the ever-evolving nature of humans, relationships, and priorities, musicians often capture a movement like lightning, strike while the iron is hot, and quickly fade away. When it comes to power metal, one of the four bands on that Mount Rushmore of influence as well as body of work has to be Helloween. After a multi-year run reunion tour with the current lineup along with vocalist Michael Kiske and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen from those 1980’s heydays, hope held out for a new record. And that finally has come to fruition.
Throughout the record, Helloween injects outside the box ‘metal’ influences – be it from a show tune, classic rock, or progressive / alternative perspective. That’s why favorites change by the day – and will probably allow this album to become not just the most talked about record in power metal for 2021, but in the genre overall. In an era where people may not wait on pins and needles for any upcoming record, Helloween brings this scribe back to that youthful exuberance here when you couldn’t wait to consume every note of new material – a reunion that should continue forward as these gentlemen still deserve the accolades and appreciation for the quality, detail, and performances contained within.
Read the entire review HERE
Read our recent interview with Sascha Gerstner HERE
