Album Review: Helloween – Unarmed: Best of 25th Anniversary

May 12, 2010 by Editor
Filed under 2010 Releases, Album Reviews

Helloween
Unarmed: Best of 25th Anniversary

Helloween - Unarmed

Release Date: April 13, 2010
Record Label: The End Records

Review:
Every once in a while an album comes along that completely shatters all of my preconceptions. And quite remarkably, it’s usually a good thing.

I first saw Helloween perform during the Headbanger’s Ball Tour in 1988. I spent most of the time making fun of them, especially Michael Kiske’s odd theatrics (which included a great deal of singing to the rafters, instead of to the crowd). It was so abysmal, I avoided anything branded “Helloween” since. Even though Kiske was replaced by Andi Deris in 1993, my first reaction when opening the envelope with Helloween’s latest release, Unarmed: Best of 25th Anniversary, was still something like “Oh God, why did they send me this crap?”

Horns (not the ones on your head) are what greeted my ears when I stated playing the first track “Dr. Stein.” The music was so unexpected an startling that I had to recheck the CD label to make sure I didn’t inadvertently swap it with another. This is not the power metal sound I expected. Unarmed: Best of 25th Anniversary displays many different sounds arrangements, from the pop styles of “If I Could Fly,” “Fallen To Pieces,” and “Perfect Gentleman” to the theatrical “The Keeper’s Trilogy,” which sounds like a cross between the Trans Siberian Orchestra and an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

Probably the greatest highlight of this album is the vocal performance of Andi Deris, who deftly handles the stylist changes. He also has a nice duet with Hellsong’s Harriet Ohlsson on “Eagle Fly Free.”

It took me twenty-two years to give Helloween another chance, and I’m glad I did. Unarmed: Best of 25th Anniversary shows that Helloween’s music can be re-imagined, at its core, can stand the test of time.

Track Listing: