Helloween Unarmed

Helloween Unarmed

I’ve read and heard really bad reviews about Helloween’s new album Unarmed. I can say that I understand those reviews but I disagree with them. The album was not made for ordinary people. It’s a 25th Anniversary album and It was made for the fans. And even if you are a Helloween fan, you still need to have a very open mind to like and even understand the album.

First of all, let me tell you why I like the album. I liked it because it was a brave album. The band had to have guts to release it. It just proves how creative they are and have always been. They took all some of their hits and re-recorded them in a variety of styles ranging from jazz to metal with bits of folk and blues, and they did it with help from some gifted musicians around the world.

Here’s a song by song review:

• Dr. Stein: Nice jazz version with a nice saxophone and even nicer bass line by Markus Grosskopf (I want to play like him when I grow up). 8/10
• Future World: Nice slow acoustic version. 7.5/10
• If I Could Fly: I’ve never been a fan of this song and when I saw that they had put it in the album, I just said: “oh no…” But I understand why they put it. It was a single and sold really well, so… This version is not better or worse than the original. They even sound very similar. 5/10
• Where The Rain Grows: The good melody of the original saves this one. The rendition made it much slower but the far more catchy verses and chorus still managed to make it enjoyable. 8/10
• The Keeper Trilogy: The “masterpiece” of this album, no contest. Very well orchestrated, subtle notes and harmonies from the originals are emphasized and make us rediscover the songs. This song itself makes the whole album worthy.  10/10
• Eagle Fly Free: Horrible. My favourite Helloween song was destroyed! What have they done to this?  ZERO!
• Perfect gentleman: Frankly, no difference here between the original and the cover. I think the two are interchangeable. One has a bit less electric guitars but that is it. 7/10
• Forever And One: Why is this song in the album in the first place? 2/10
• I Want Out: I liked it. I admit that the kid chorus is very catchy. In fact, it joined the spirit of ‘Another Brick In The wall’ from Pink Floyd and that seems appropriate since both songs have the same theme. The cover kept that rebellious atmosphere and it remained upbeat. Good job on this one. 8/10
• Fallen To Pieces: Again, why is this here? Isn’t it supposed to be a classics only album? The original song is not good and this one isn’t very different. 3/10
• A Tale That Wasn’t Right: Very good. Second best after the Trilogy. The orchestration sounds overwhelming by times and takes away a bit from the original simple nature of the song but generally it does a good job. Andi Deris, given his vocal range, deliveres a quite intense performance. 7.5/10

You can listen to a preview of all these songs here.

The band is currently undergoing a promo tour for this album. This promo tour consists of a pocket show with autograph signings. Thanks God for youtube and some nice Helloween fans that have made some bits of this promo tour available for us all to watch. Here they are: