Helloween / Helloween (2021)

 

Rating: 8.9/10

1. Out for the Glory

2. Fear of the Fallen

3. Best Time

4. Mass Pollution

5. Angels

6. Rise Without Chains

7. Indestructible

8. Robot King

9. Cyanide

10. Down in the Dumps

11. Orbit

12. Skyfall

First of all, if you are expecting a replication of Keepers, you will be really disappointed just because Michael and Kai returned to the band. This is not merely close to Keepers I & II. It is more like the culmination of their entire career including Helloween, Gamma Ray, Unisonic, and some of their solo stuff. You just find pieces of influence of those bands everywhere throughout the album. Unisonic, and some of their solo stuff. You just find pieces of influence of those bands everywhere throughout the album.

➀ Out for the Glory

A great opening track. Interestingly, the song instantly reminded me of “Your Time Has Come” by Unisonic even though the song iswritten by Weiki. The song is very fast and catchy. The song is one of the strongest ones by Weiki in recent years.

Dani’s drumming really stands out throughout the song. Uli was a more technical drummer than Dani in my opinion. When I listen to songs like Sole Survivor, his drumming lacks some dynamics Uli had. On the other hand, Uli often put way too many fills in the song, and it often bothers me. Meanwhile, Dani is really good at keeping pace fast and steady and the band tight. Kiske’s vocal performance is incredible!!

10/10

➁ Fear of the Fallen

This band really likes falling. Another great fast paced song. When it comes to write a fast song, Andi often has a miss rather than a hit, but this is definitely a hit!! The dual vocals are working well in the song. I also like how the song isn’t a simple fast-paced song but has a lot of dynamics and transitions.

8/10

➂ Best Time

My first impression of the song was, “This is going to be a single!!” (Which I was right about) First, I thought it was written by Kai, but it was actually by Sacha. First, I thought the backing vocal was Kai, but it was actually Sacha. When Sacha brought a demo, he was singing the vocal part. Andi liked the backing vocal done by Sacha, so he suggested Sacha to record in the studio. I think it really worked out well. He did wonderful job. I just can’t wait to hear it live!!

10/10

④ Mass Pollution

A typical Andi style metal tune! His raspy high tone really shines in this song. From the 1st line of verse, only Andi can sing and perform like this. His vocal really broadened the musical direction of the band. His contribution has been one of unique aspects of the band.

9/10

➄ Angels

A dramatic tune written by Sacha. Interestingly, it’s mostly sung by Kiske, but Andi joins in the bridge where he sings, “Angel is a liar.” The song is less than 5 minutes, but it has a lot of epic elements to it.

9/10

⑥ Rise Without Chains

Another song with full of duets. When Kiske came back, I thought he would sing higher vocal parts, but I was surprised to find out that Andi was the one taking higher parts when I saw the live in 2018. I think Kiske has higher range in regular vocal, but Andi can hit really really high notes when it comes to falsetto. Their vocal blends very well in this song. Each singer really shows his strength.

8/10

⑦ Indestructible

A typical Markus style heavy tune. He doesn’t write many songs, but he always writes a heavy song with catchy hooks. I think this song is a lesser track in this album, but it is just because the entire album is so great.

8/10

⑧ Robot King

Since The Dark Ride, Weiki has had few great hits but also few misses. But, he is unbeatable in this album!! I think this song is currently my favorite track off this album. The instrumental part in the middle reminds me of Keepers.

10/10

➈ Cyanide

Another typical Andi style metal song. Heavy riffs with catchy vocal lines. I think Andi think a lot of live performance in his writing process, otherwise there is no explanation of how he can come up with so many catchy hooks. His songs are always easy to sing along.

7/10

➉ Down in the Dumps

All of 3 Weiki’s songs are fast but very different from each other. This song sounds more like Gamma Ray to me, but it is undoubtedly Helloween. All 3 singers are doing great jobs in the song.

9/10

⑪ Orbit～⑫ Skyfall

The album closes with an epic song which happens to be the only song written by Kai. The song instantly reminded me of “Keeper of the Seven Keys” and “The King for a 1000 years” The album closes with an epic song which happens to be the only song written by Kai. The song instantly reminded me of “Keeper of the Seven Keys” and “The King for a 1000 years” the length because the song is full of transitions and dynamics. This is a perfect closer of the great album.

10/10

Overall, I was very impressed by the album. At this point of their career, they decided to step forward instead of looking back for nostalgia. The twin/triple vocals worked out great. The combination of Andi and Kiske was much better than I anticipated. Each guitarist shows their color in this album. Especially, Kai was a really mission piece of the band. He is not the most technical guitarist out there, but he is a great melody maker. Both Roland and Sacha were very technical and have strength in their styles, but no one could replace Kai’s melodic solo. I’m so happy to hear his great melody in Helloween. I highly recommend this album!

Senjutsu / Iron Maiden (2021)

 

Rating: 9/10

Disc 1

1. Senjutsu

2. Stratego

3. The Writing on the Wall

4. Lost in the Lost World

5. Days of Future Past

6. The Time Machine

Disc2

7. Darkest Hour

8. Death of the Celts

9. The Parchment

10. Hell on Earth

① Senjutsu Very typical Adrian’s post-reunion style. He’s been writing songs with unique drum patterns since Dance of Death such as Paschendale, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, Starblind, and Tears of a Clown. But, the drum pattern of this song, which he was inspired by Japanese drums (Wadaiko), is so unique from any other songs he has written.

Senjutsu is very moody song but not dark. It has such solemn feeling to it. Bruce sings like War Cry. I know many people feel the same way, but I think it’s a perfect song to open the album.

10/10

② Stratego The first thing stood out to me was Nick’s drumming. It’s hard to believe that he recorded this powerful drumming in his late 60’s. The song overall didn’t do much to me at first, but I realized that I was totally wrong as I listened to it a live version.

9/10

③ The Writing on the Wall Another unique song written by Adrian. Many people say the intro remind them of cowboy movies, but it actually reminded me of Samurai movies. The riff is not a typical Maiden style, but it’s also nothing but Maiden. The chorus is easy to sing along.

I knew from the first time that it was going to be an awesome live song. It also features a long beautiful solo by Adrian. 10/10

④ Lost in the Lost World First, I thought this song was written by Adrian because of the drum patterns. Very bass-driven song. I think it is one of the most bass-driven song written in their modern era. Steve once said he didn’t pay much attention on his bass part as he used to but rather focus on writing good songs and ensemble. But, this song is really led by his bass. The song didn’t do much to me at first, but it grew on me a lot as I listened to more.

9/10

⑤ Days of Future Past This is more Adrian’s classic style, very straightforward rock/metal. It’s such a cool song, but I think this one is my least favorite in Senjutsu. 8/10

⑥ The Time Machine My first impression was “Dance of Death Part2.” It’s a compliment, by the way. Janick always comes up with cool theme Melodie’s whenever he writes longer tunes. The theme melody of the song reminded me of Dance of Death. Nicko’s bouncy drumming adds a lot of dynamics in the middle section of the song. It’s hard to believe, but it seems like his drumming has rejuvenated in some of the songs in this album.

9/10

⑦ Darkest Hour A moody ballad with very beautiful chorus. Since the reunion, they always put at least 1 slower song or ballad. But, this song really stands out among this other great songs. Maiden ballads often have some dynamics in the middle, but this song has them every part of the song, but it fits very well and doesn’t destroy the whole song. It also features long solos played by Adrian. 3 different solos!! You can tell he was really improvising on this, and he did great job on it.

8/10

⑧ Death of the Celts It instantly reminded me of The Clansman for several obvious reasons. For some reasons, the main riff of its instrumental part, where the guitars and the bass played in unison, reminded me of the album, Powerslave. It’s another bass-driven epic written by Steve. Both Lost in the Lost World and this song are very bass-driven but in different ways. This song has the early Maiden feel to it.

8/10

⑨ The Parchment The melody in the song has Arabic feel to it and matches really well with the title. It is another unusual song. It’s more than 12 minutes yet basically in the same mid tempo for almost 10 minutes and doesn’t have much dynamics in terms of rhythm. I think this song would be so painful to play live for Nicko. Nevertheless, the song shows many different aspects as it slowly evolves and guides us to the journey step by step. At the end of the song, the band fully explodes.

9/10

⑩ Hell on Earth This song grabbed me instantly. The song has so many hooks in its vocal lines and lead guitars. It reminded me of one of my all-time favorite tunes, The Thin Line Between Love & Hate. It has similar unique transitions at the end. It is one of few Maiden songs that finishes with fade out. It’s very unusual for them, but it has to end this way. It is such a perfect closer of the album. I really wish that they would play this song live right before the song, Iron Maiden.

10/10