Helloween (Germany) - Helloween (EP, 1985)
Welcome back, power metal warriors! Today, we'll be looking at Helloween's classic self-titled 1985 debut EP. Let's check out the artwork:
This back cover is really nice - the way the sunset, the sky and the mountains in the background are drawn is so eye-catching. You can tell the band's really fond of their logo - they use it four times in this picture alone! Now, let's take the record out and plop it onto our turntable:
The first song is "Starlight" and it begins with a hilarious intro consisting of some dude snoring, yawning and then slowly getting up as he cracks open a drink. Then, he turns on the radio and goes through a few stations before the cursed Silver Shamrock Happy Halloween jingle from the cult classic 1982 horror film Halloween III: Season of the Witch comes on. Anyone who's seen that movie knows that's bad news, and the guy goes "Oh, shit", which is followed by an abrupt and epic metal scream from Kai Hansen. Remember how the Death Metal Demo had a big, epic metal ending? This EP has a big, epic metal beginning! The instruments all go crazy as Hansen makes some great evil grunts and laughs with his voice, and then we go into the song proper. Our first riff has a swinging Iron Maiden kind of feel going on (think "Phantom of the Opera" and the fast part in "Transylvania"), but as we know from the Death Metal Demo, Helloween's songs are full of interesting tempo changes and they don't always go where you expect.
After this excellent riff, the feel changes to a faster, straighter metal beat featuring some great kick and snare work from drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg. Then, we get another tempo change, with the beat getting faster once again. Ingo does a great job building the parts in this intro up - we go from minimalistic crash work and keeping time by hitting the drum sticks together on the swinging riff to kick and snare on the first tempo change to going into an all-out fast metal beat on the second, bringing in the hi-hat to make a full dynamic impact. Kai's vocals in this intro also help keep things exciting. Once we get to that fast beat, the first verse starts, and now everyone knows it's headbanging time!
The first verse and pre-chorus is full of powerful vocals from Kai, killer guitar riffage and energetic drumming from Ingo. The transition to the chorus feels so natural, and it keeps the same feel as the verse. Just when it feels like this song's settled into a straightforward structure, we get a nice little surprise when a killer riff comes in for one bar, with Ingo's choke cymbal on the "1" of the measure bringing attention to the guitars and his snare hit on the "4" impactfully bringing us into the second verse. After the second verse, second pre-chorus second chorus, there's a great detail with Kai holding the last note longer as the band goes into the instrumental bridge, which is INCREDIBLE. The guitar harmonies in this part are so melodic and memorable! What's interesting is that this song, especially the bridge, feels so triumphant and uplifting, yet the lyrics tell a dark tale of someone who's struggling with drug addiction, needing pills and needles to fly "on invisible wings." Just say no!
The beautiful guitar harmony part is followed by a section that briefly introduces us to something that'll turn up a lot in power metal: guitars playing sixteenth note power chords combined with the double-time double bass beat I talked about in my Death Metal Demo review. It feels so grand when the sixteenth notes are in unison! After this short part is over, Ingo does something really cool: he keeps the sixteenth note double bass going, but hits the hi-hat and snare and unison to create a different kind of beat. This kind of switching around what the hands are doing while keeping the constant double bass drumming is going is another trope you'll find often in power metal drumming! Soon after this part, Ingo goes back to the classic power/speed metal beat, but switches from the hi-hat to the ride as the guitars play another great melody which helps keep the energy while also introducing something a bit different. After this, the rhythm guitar and drums go back to what they were doing in the verses and choruses as we hear a quick but incredible solo from guitarists Kai Hansen and Michael Weikath. Once this solo is over, the band opts to skip the verse, and instead does another pre-chorus going into the chorus, with this pre-chorus repeating the lyrics from the second. We get brought out of the song with another repetition of the chorus, with Ingo bringing some double bass back in to add a sense of tension and finality. At the very end, the song slows down, with some great crash cymbal and guitar work bringing things to a close.
Track two is "Murderer", which keeps the energy from "Starlight" going. This track has a fantastic layered intro: first we get the classic power metal sixteenth note guitar chugging coming from one guitar, then after two bars both guitars come in, chugging in harmony, and after another two bars the bass comes in, also chugging - the band sounds so in sync and Markus Grosskopf's bass playing gets a chance to shine. After another two bars (I'm sensing a pattern!) Ingo comes in with a scene-setting sixteenth note snare fill. Now that the whole band's ready to go, the song bursts into action with Ingo doing the classic power metal double bass beat on the ride as we hear some more brilliant riffs and soloing! The first verse comes in soon afterwards, and Ingo's drumming here goes back to the hi-hat. The footwork here is a great mix of single and double bass: when the double bass parts come it feels so good! Once we get to the pre-chorus, Ingo once again goes into constant double bass mode, which is great at building tension. In the chorus, Ingo keeps that beat going but switches back to ride as we're introduced to some great gang backing vocals - the way "MURDERER!" is chanted sticks out and it's a big part of what makes this track so memorable.
After the first chorus, we get another instrumental break where Ingo switches back to the hi-hat but keeps the double bass, which works great as a transition into the second verse, where Ingo goes back to mixing single and double bass patterns. The second verse and second chorus come and go quickly and furiously, with Kai's badass extended scream when he sings "You'll have to kill... AGAIN!!!" setting us up for a brief, blistering, yet melodic guitar solo where Ingo keeps the double bass thunder going, switching to the hi-hat to the ride and back to the hi-hat as the third verse comes in. After going through another verse-pre-chorus-chorus cycle and repeating the chorus one more time, we get another big metal ending, with Kai hitting some high notes as he stretches the "You'll have to kill" part, and unexpectedly going a bit harsher yet quieter with the final "AGAIN!"
The next song, "Warrior", begins with the sounds of weapons being fired, which perfectly sets the atmosphere for this great track! The guitars come in with an Iron Maiden-esque galloping rhythm, and Ingo, as always, delivers some great cymbal chokes and snare fills. Right before Ingo goes into the beat, there's a great sound provided by the one of the guitars quickly sliding down the frets. This song is more mid-tempo than the first two, and Ingo's drumming, like the guitars, feels Maiden-y. There's a suspense building half-time part in the pre-chorus that's so good, and the way this section ends with a dramatic pause and Kai singing "...so die" is so epic and dramatic. Instead of going into a chorus right away, the song goes into the second verse, followed by another pre-chorus, and after this, we get to hear the refrain. The lyrics here are "Die now, die, warrior!" repeated twice, with "warrior" sung in a higher pitch the second time around, which emphasizes the excitement in the music. After this, we go into the bridge, which ups the ante with its tense melody and Ingo's drumming, where he hits the hi-hat and snare at the same time on each beat, while putting in some kick drums on the "ands" between each beat. Once this part concludes, the song goes back to galloping riffs and drums, but Ingo switches to the ride to keep things fresh. Over the galloping, we get some more tasty soloing, and the way the drums switch back to the hi-hat halfway through the solo keeps things varied.
After a repeat of the bridge, we go into an instrumental break featuring a harmonized repeat of the main riff - you can never go wrong with guitar harmonies! This is followed with another verse, another pre-chorus (the transition into the chorus is amped up by a fantastic quick sixteenth note double bass fill this time) and two repetitions of the chorus, with Ingo once again adding a sense of finality as the song nears the end as he brings back the beat from the bridge, which goes wonderfully with the chorus. Then, we get another brief but massive sounding metal ending, where Markus Grosskopf gets a killer bass fill in, and Kai closes the song with an impactful "die!" enhanced with a delay effect.
Time to flip the record over!
Up next is the guitar solo, and just when you're getting used to the slow-burn feel, you get another sudden surprise as the song shifts back to its original tempo and the solo continues! Near the end, it starts sounding like a faster version of the instrumental break from "Running Free" (woah, another Maiden comparison!) You could even say the slow part sounds somewhat like the one in "Charlotte the Harlot", although the guitars are more distorted in Helloween's song and Kai's spoken word and vocal histrionics give it a unique flavor. Once the solo concludes, the track jumps back into the chorus, and just when you think it's about to end, we get another tempo change! This part is in a similar vein to "Starlight" and "Murderer", and we get some more awesome shredding as Ingo does a fast beat on the hi-hat. Then, he switches to the ride and brings back that classic sixteenth-note double bass as the guitars get increasingly high pitched and harmonized. This finale is breathtaking and will leave you on the edge of your seat, which if you're reading this, I presume is made of leather and steel! Once the guitars complete their soaring harmonies, we get some lower pitched shredding combined with some killer rhythm guitar, and then Kai finishes things off with an epic, slower delivery of the lines from the chorus: "Fly high, touch the sky!" as the band once again does one of their signature big metal endings, with Markus again getting some cool bass licks in.
This Noise catalog is awesome! Besides the records and bands I mentioned in yesterday's article (the Death Metal compilation, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost and Running Wild) there's some more killer German metal in store! Although none of them are power metal, Warrant (not to be confused with the American glam metal band) is a must for anyone who loves speed metal! Sinner and Ballantinez are essential traditional heavy metal, and Grave Digger is a band to put on top of your listening list if you're looking for something between heavy and speed metal in terms of heaviness. Like Running Wild, Grave Digger ended up going in a power metal direction later on, so you'll be hearing more about them in this blog!
The last song is "Cry for Freedom", which begins in a ballady way with a touching acoustic guitar intro. The first verse starts quickly, with Ingo adding some tasteful soft ride cymbal work over the acoustic guitar and Kai's vocals. The lyrics here are so metal, with Hansen singing about tyrants feeling the "steel of the sword", and halfway through the first verse, things start to build up as Ingo does some cymbal swirls and starts playing a slow, soft beat on the hi-hat, kick and snare. Markus starts playing more notes on his bass that get gradually higher pitched during this part, which also expertly give the feeling that things are getting serious! After the first verse, the song gets a bit louder once more, with some distorted guitars coming in and Ingo switching to the ride. Once this part is over, we get an extended instrumental break filled with emotional riffs, and just when it sounds like the song's about to end, we get another surprise tempo change! Now, the BPM is about as fast as "Starlight", "Warrior" and the end of "Victim of Fate", and we instantly go into the second verse, which contrasts greatly with the first. Then, Ingo brings back the sixteenth note double kick, which is accompanied by a gloriously epic sing-along "oh oh oh oh" section. After a quick instrumental break, we go into the third verse, where Ingo keeps the double bass going, and then there's more of that sublime "oh oh oh oh" chanting. The fourth verse keeps the song's structure unpredictable by being longer than the third, and it's followed by an exceptional guitar riff and some classic cymbal choking. Then, the chorus comes in, and the lyrics in this part turn out to be a reprise of what Kai sings in the intro. The first time around, these words came off like a dazzling mystical prophecy, and when sung in full speed, it sounds like that prophecy's being fulfilled!
Following the refrain is a brilliant extended guitar solo section, filled with the signature Helloween speed and technicality combined with blistering yet splendidly melodic notes. I love when Ingo switches to the ride and adds some awesome cymbal crashes that perfectly match what the guitars are doing, taking his already fantastic playing to new levels of greatness! Once this portion is over, we get more fabulous riffage combined with cymbal chokes, and then, for a short time, some more soloing, with Ingo keeping to the ride but providing a mix of single and double bass patterns to keep things fresh. The band proceeds to go into the chorus one last time before going back into the slow tempo from earlier. The delicate guitar playing combined with Ingo's earth-shattering snare and tom fills is so poignant and perfect. The song concludes with the traditional Kai dramatically singing a line from the chorus combined with the expected big Helloween ending - there's some brief exceptional shredding before the EP comes to a close with a gorgeous echo placed on the last note.
Overall, this EP is a stunning debut from Helloween, and even in this early stage of their career, they're already a fantastic band. Not only did they invent a whole new genre of metal by taking influences from their predecessors and interpreting them in a faster yet more melodic way, but their songwriting and musicianship is top of the line. They've surely earned their place in the big four of power metal!
Before I wrap up this review, let's check out what else came with this EP:
Hey, does anyone want some Helloween shirts?
If this was 1985, I'd order both the t-shirt and sweatshirt immediately! Anyone who has those is in possession of power metal GOLD!
With that, it's time for this article to come to an end. Next time, I'll be writing about the ferocious US power metal beasts Omen and their outstanding sophomore album Warning of Danger. It'll be a hell of a time!
Comments
Post a Comment