CD Review: Helloween – Straight Out of Hell: Premium Edition
The End Records
All Access Review: B+
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| Helloween - Straight Out of Hell 2013 |
The Tim Burton-style cover should have been a dead giveaway, hinting at the distinct possibility of Straight Out of Hell being one of the most cinematic and expansive records in the
Helloween canon. This being their 14th studio album, Straight Out of Hell is rife with war
imagery, uplifting messages, cosmological exploration, angry recrimination, and
in one instance, a Utopian tale of a doomed imaginary empire … oh, and
there’s also a love ballad, a sweeping epic really titled “Hold Me In Your
Arms” that Hollywood ought to snatch up before investing in another one of
Nicholas Sparks’ cloying romances.
Certainly, no one can accuse the veteran Germanic power-metal outfit of
repeating thematic lyrical patterns. Still lightning fast and intent on
constructing increasingly grandiose arrangements, Helloween balances heavy,
mauling riffage and speedy, mind-bogglingly complex guitar solos and twin leads
with mellifluous melodies here. All this, plus Dani Loble’s blinding drums and Helloween’s flair for unexpectedly fluid dynamic
shifts are on display on tracks like “Burning Sun,” the piano-laden “Waiting for the Thunder”
and the hook-filled “Far From the Stars.”
This is classic Helloween, always willing to switch
galloping speed-metal horses mid-stream and go for the throat, as triumphant anthems
“Live Now!” and “Another Shot of Life” are shot through with undying optimism
and fist-pumping choruses – as well as whirling keyboards, slickly executed
tempo changes and churning guitars. On the other hand, “World of War” washes
radiance over trampling, trudging death-metal rhythms, while the exotic,
charging, head-spinning sand storm “Nabataea” should be splashed across the
silver screen – in 3D, of course. Straight
Out of Hell’s most interesting and gripping track, the massive “Nabataea,” so reminiscent of Iron Maiden, is also one of its most diverse, with gentle, scenic descents and majestic,
breathtaking climbs onward and upward well past where eagles dare.
An absorbing sonic experience from beginning to end, even if
the simplistic and bitter “Asshole” seems beneath them, Straight Out of Hell: Premium Edition is not a game-changer for
Helloween. Nevertheless, it does find Helloween attempting to perfect their dramatic,
shock-and-awe formula, blowing away audiences with dazzling musicianship and bombastic instrumental flourishes, the occasional daring trespass into prog-rock, ambitious songwriting from Markus Grosskopf, Michael Weikath, Andi Deris and guitarist Sascha Gerstner, and the ability to
weave fantastical tales made for the widescreen. (theendrecords.com)
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Peter Lindblad
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