Helloween (Germany) - Judas (EP, 1986)

KICKASS, MORE HELLOWEEN!!!

This time I'm looking at Judas, a 12" EP that Helloween released in 1986. Before we get into the music, let's check out the artwork:

The front cover is really cool, and keeps the classic Helloween pumpkin theme going. The way it's designed to resemble a skull is so metal, and having the band's logo on a flag lodged inside the pumpkin is a killer creative touch. Let's check out the back!

This time, we get a pumpkin count of four and a Helloween logo count of one! It's not as pumpkiny as before, but there's still plenty of pumpkins to go around, and the awesome pumpkin side numbers from Walls of Jericho get to make their triumphant return. I love the live shots of each member, and the way to photos are arranged is so eye-catching. The back also has a message that says "JUDAS IS DEDICATED TO ALL POLITICANS WHO TALK HUMAN BUT ACT LIKE MONSTERS" - something unusual to see on a power metal record, where the lyrics tend to be based around high fantasy and mythology. As we're about to hear, this is a heavy message to go with some heavy music!

As we put the record on the turntable, we can see that side A, like the other Helloween vinyl I've covered so far, has a black and white recreation of art from the record. That pumpkin's looking really cool, and also like the other Helloween vinyls, I'd love to own this one so I can see it spin!

The first song on the 12" is the title track, which bursts out of the gate with some a kickass riff accompanied by some occasional fast and furious snare hits from Ingo. The bass here stands out, with Markus Grosskopf providing some superb bass fills that deviate from the guitars while still fitting perfectly with the music. After a kickass snare and tom fill from Ingo, the song goes into my beloved double time double kick speed metal beat - always something that gets me headbanging in approval. Ingo plays this beat on the hi-hat while the riff keeps going. Kai then belts out a killer falsetto scream while Ingo's hands do some 16th notes on the hi-hat and his feet do a four on the floor kick pattern - it's the uber-brief return of disco Ingo! We're brought into the verse after Ingo does a quick snare hit, and the drum pattern changes back to the speed metal beat on the hands, but this time with an expertly played bass drum pattern that alternates between single kick and double kick.

The lyrics in this song have a similar message to "How Many Tears" about the importance of fighting for freedom and human rights, but this time they're delivered in an angrier way and attack politicians who prioritize economic gain and power over helping people. Halfway through the first verse, Ingo's drums go back into full double bass, which puts a huge smile on my face, and does a great job at building excitement and tension. Going into the pre-chorus, the pulverizing double kick continues while Ingo does some badass things with his hands, with combo hi-hat and snare hits that sound so powerful and emphasize the strong melody Kai is singing ("FIGHT FOR FREEDOM!" "FIGHT FOR RIGHTS!") while mesmerizing tom hits make the drumming in this section even greater. 

Ingo brings us into the chorus with a powerful snare hit. The speed metal beat comes back in full force, and I love the strong backing vocals chanting "JUDAS!" After the chorus, there's a fantastic riff that comes in, and Markus gets some more excellent bass work in there too. Then, we get another brief disco Ingo moment while Kai lets out an agonizingly weighty scream that brings us into the second verse - pre-chorus - cycle. The second chorus has a spectacular ending with Kai screaming "You will be the one who's crucifiedddddddddd!!!", stretching the last note into an increasingly high metal falsetto wail that means business!

After this, we go into the solo, which is filled with a cornucopia of brilliant riffs and melodies. After a bit of soloing, Ingo does a marvelous tom fill and moves the speed metal beat to the ride. He always knows how to keep the drumming fresh. The epic melodic soloing continues for a while, and there's a part I love where Ingo moves to a crash cymbal for two bars and plays on the "and" of each beat (something he hasn't done before), then quickly goes back to the hi-hat. It's a great, energetic moment of drumming goodness! We only have to wait a few seconds before we get another bit of awesome drumming, with Ingo doing a strong sixteenth note fill which is followed by an exciting explosion sound effect as the guitars continue the solo! 

Finally, near the end of the solo, there's another kickass section where Ingo dominates proceedings by doing a sixteenth note fill through beats 3 and 4 of each measure a few times before disco Ingo quickly returns as the song goes into a new section with an Iron Maiden style galloping riff accompanied by thunderous toms that match the gallops, plus perfectly placed crash cymbals that emphasize the melody the vocals and guitars go into when going out of the gallops. 

Then, the band stops and we get to hear Kai belt out "You keep on telling you'll -" which turns out to be a superbly imaginative way of transitioning back to the pre-chorus! After the pre-chorus, the chorus repeats twice in a row, and during the second time, Kai belts out "CRUCIFIED!" a few times, with each repetition being higher and more intense than the previous. The last one is an amazing falsetto note, and after it ends, we get to the outro. There's a brief, perfectly synchronized crash + guitar section followed by an epic sounding choral synth that's higher pitched than what we heard on Walls of Jericho. It's a fantastic, memorable way of closing the song!

Now, it's time to flip the record over:

Side two features two live versions of songs that appeared on Walls of Jericho, which were recorded at a concert Helloween played in Gelsenkirchen, West Germany on June 7th, 1986. The first one is "Ride the Sky", that immortal power/speed metal classic! It starts with an atmospheric synth, over which a guitar chord is heard as the band prepares to play. The Halloween III Silver Shamrock jingle the band sampled in "Starlight" comes on, and it's incredible to hear the crowd clapping and singing along! Soon, Kai comes in with a kickass metal falsetto scream, and Ingo soon joins with two quick notes on the kick followed by a fast snare hit, which cues the whole band to come in with a chaotic but epic intro. Ingo's smashing the cymbals like crazy and everyone's going nuts on their instruments - Ingo gets in a blistering drum solo, the guitars are shredding like mad, and Markus gets some juicy bass licks in. Eventually, Ingo's drums gradually slow down and stop, which cues the band to sustain the guitars as Kai makes a quick announcement. I can't make out what he's saying, but if anyone knows, I'd love to hear what it is!

This is followed by Ingo doing a fast hi-hat count-in, and the band bursts into... "Starlight"! This is a surprise, considering that "Starlight" isn't in the track list, but it's still cool to hear a live version of this awesome song. It's even faster and more energetic than the studio version, which is really great to hear! Just when the band's about to go into the first verse, we get another surprise... now it's time for "Ride the Sky" to come in! It's a wild double subversion of expectations, and like what we heard of "Starlight" live, this version of "Ride the Sky" is also speedier and even more energetic than the studio recording!

Structurally, it's the same as the studio version, though I noticed that the drums in the beginning of the second verse are a bit different - look out for a missing snare hit! Some other slight differences are the absence of the explosion sound from the studio version, and the line "No one should tell me what's wrong or what's right" slightly changed to "No one should tell me what's wrong, what's right." Besides those minor things, this is a perfect live recreation of the studio version, and when the crowd bursts into applause at the end, it's beyond well deserved!

The last song on the EP is a live version of "Guardians", and it's another near-perfect recreation of the studio version, though I noticed one of the drum hits in the beginning of the second verse is slightly off. Like the mistake in "Ride the Sky" where he misses a snare hit, he recovers quickly and professionally, which is great to hear! I also noticed that these live versions of both songs don't have the choral synths that were heard in the studio version, since the band didn't have a keyboardist in their lineup. 

I looked into who did those keyboards on Walls of Jericho, and it turns out they were played by James Hardway, a British producer who mainly works in the jazz and drum and bass genres. I wonder how he connected with Helloween? It would be so cool to know the story! For all the gearheads out there, Encyclopedia Metallum says that the synth / sampler he used was an Emulator II.

Going back to the live recordings, "Guardians" ends with the crowd applauding and Kai saying something like "Ooh, enjoying the show?" as the recording fades out. According to Encylopedia Metallum, these live versions are the studio versions of the songs, just with added crowd noise, but due to the differences I noticed in the recordings, I would say that's not true. Digging deeper into this issue, I found that the Wikipedia article on Walls of Jericho mentions that the live versions of these songs featured on the deluxe edition of Walls of Jericho are the studio versions with added crowd noise, and after listening to the versions found on that 2CD reissue, I can confirm that's the case - the true live versions are only available on the original Judas 12". Maybe the band wanted these live versions changed because of the minor mistakes? Like Dio would say, it's always a mystery!

Before I wrap up this review, let's look at what else the vinyl packaging has to offer:

It's a 12" single with a lyric sheet, and another cool black and white recreation of the cover! That's badass! It also comes with a Noise Records ad, and the records on it have changed once again:

The Death Metal compilation is still there, but the cover has been replaced with the censored version, and the new additions are Celtic Frost's classic debut album (or sophomore LP, if you count the Morbid Tales EP as their first album due to the two extra tracks found on the Metal Blade pressing, and the 1999 CD reissue which adds even more awesome songs), To Mega Therion, as well as Voivod's second album and first on Noise, the incredibly titled thrasterpiece Rrröööaaarrr. There's also Running Wild's classic follow-up to Gates of Purgatory - the brilliant Branded and Exiled, the speed metal mastery of Rage's Reign of Fear (they were previously called Avenger and released the incredible album Prayers of Steel before changing their name and signing to Noise), and finally Sinner's killer fourth album and second LP on Noise - Touch of Sin! Oh, and Walls of Jericho is there too. It's a flawless catalog filled with nothing but classic metal albums I could listen to over and over and never get tired of!

Next time on The History of Power Metal, we'll be returning to the United States and reviewing The Curse, Omen's masterful follow-up to the mighty Warning of Danger!