Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There is always a feel good factor that resides deep in the heart of Germany’s Godfathers of Metal, Helloween, that emulates the way the North American stalwarts and British pioneers of N.W.O.B.H.M to such an extent that when the songs of their back catalogue are unleashed, the sound created is one that cannot, must surely not, be ignored.
Metal will never be everyone’s first call when it comes to uniting the world with music, but to those it does touch, to those it fans the flames of intrigue, beauty and symbolism to in their lives, then to bands like Helloween, they are a godsend, a realisation that all they perform is the musical equivalent of reading The Lord of The Rings, epic, uncontrollable and full of inspired rage and story-telling.
A precursor to the new live album due out in October, United Live In Madrid, sees Helloween unmask the future king with the rip roaring single Pumpkins United, as a celebration before what is surely going to be a crowning achievement as they look back, not only over the 14 month period in which they showcased their Pumpkins United World Tour, but of what has been, with a couple of dips in fortune, an outstanding career.
It is no accident of fortune that the two Keeper of the Seven Keys albums are amongst the all-time favourites of the fans, the songs that dominate this musical world, the expression of art merged with narrative is one that bolsters the appreciation of any Metal fan, and with the return to the ranks of Kai Hanse and Michael Kiske, the explosive tension that once run through the band as if attached to a declaration of war, has been displaced, moved on, to one of overwhelming, unrelenting graft, of persuasion and passion in the same unyielding peace and insightful humour.
Helloween understand the point of persistence, of holding out and keeping the ideal alive; and in the single release of Pumpkins United, that persistence more than pays off.
Helloween release their live album, United Alive In Madrid via Nuclear Blast on October 4th.
Ian D. Hall