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Chameleon

Helloween - Chameleon Audio CD

A fair review of the Helloween "Chameleon" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Helloween reviews here, or go back to the Helloween tabs.

Band: Helloween
Title: Chameleon
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-04-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: First Time 2: When The Sinner 3: I Don't Wanna Cry No More 4: Crazy Cat 5: Giants 6: Windmill 7: Revolution Now 8: In The Night 9: Music 10: Step Out Of Hell 11: I Believe 12: Longing 13: I Don't Care You Don't Care (single b-side) 14: Oriental Journey (single b-side prev. Japan only) 15: Cut In The Middle (single b-side) 16: Introduction (single b-side) 17: Get Me Out of Here (single b-side) 18: Red Socks and the Smell of the Trees (single b-side) 19: Ain't Got Nothin' Better (single b-side)

Good CD
The voice of Michael Kiske is very good, but the songs are more or less. It isn't the Best cd by Helloween, but it's a good cd.

Ooh what a sexy man!
Im a 40 year old man who has never been with a woman in his entire life because I hate women and I need me a man which is none other than michael f. . ing kiske. He's not only a sexy singer to me but he's got such a sexy body and I am so curious about the size of his johnny I would put it on some hotdog buns with some ketchup and mustard and eat it all up. I want to spinkle some whip cream with sprinkles and don't forget the cherries on top of that fine looking body of his ooh yeah and last but not leat I wanna eat the dingleberries out of his bunghole hoooorah!!! When I was 16 I was kinda spoiled and selfish I wanted kiske on my sweet 16th birthday party but my father got me a brand new hummer instead and I was furious and I ran to my bedroom crying and wacking off to kiske's posters all over my room til I trembled in sweat and fell asleep.

I LOVE YOU KISKE!!!

MARRY ME KISKE!!!

I WANT BABY KISKE'S!!! .

the last of the great vocals
Despite the vastly different styles, the vocals are solid throughout. This disc features the last recording of Michael Kiske on lead vocals for Helloween.

What a waste to lose him because now Helloween sounds like any other rock band.

Wallow in vibrant guitar work of First Time, the undulating, silky vocals in Windmill and the pounding I Believe.

Although less quirky than Keys II, a couple of tracks still suffer from excessive effects.

Overall, a quality disc and a worthwhile buy to retain the last of Kiske's work with the once-great band.

Not sure.....
Just got this CD, and was very excited to see it arrive. . . . however, now, after listening to it a few times, I'm kind of neutral on it. Its got a couple Helloween-style songs (fast and hard), but like the sleeve notes say, it definitely is a different direction. . . . if not a strange one. As an example, my recent CDs from them are all the newer metal and progressive sounding albums, rabbit don't come easy, etc. If you like a surprise with a new direction this CD will satisfy, if you're looking for that metal, old or new sound, you will be disappointed. . . . I'm still trying to get past the '80ish sounding synthesizer sound on a couple of the songs. . . . . try it, you might like it, but if you're a metal guy like me, save your money for anything newer coming up.

A great album if you can accept the myriad of outside musical influences...
Why it is quite obvious to anyone familiar with Helloween's musical portfolio why an album like Chameleon would fail to revitalize the band's flailing carrier in the early 90s, this album is quite far from a "complete" failure - at least in my eyes. When most European metal fans discuss the lowest point of Helloween's long-winded and somewhat land mined history, two albums immediately come to mind: 1991's Pink Bubbles Go Ape and 1993's Chameleon - the later usually invoking the most disgust. The only real failure here is by the band and/or label (I've lost track of who blamed who for the album's failure nor do I really care at this point) who completely missed the mark with what fans wanted.

With this said, those that will find Chameleon to their liking are metal fans that are willing to accept and respect outside influences that usually don't find their way into any kind of heavy metal record. A good number of the songs are infused with life by instruments typical to jazz and blues arrangements and the album somewhat takes on more of an rock and roll approach than that of a typical Euro release. In a nutshell, Chameleon is a lot more "artsy" than any Helloween album before or after it: think of it like your grandpa's version of Helloween - if that makes any since at all.

Anyways, despite what many will tell you, this album does have its fair share of good songs. "When the Sinner" and "Crazy Cat" contain jazzy, upbeat arrangements that I feel are full of energy despite the lack of any kind of European edge or flavor to them. "First Time" is straight up rocker that cleverly emulates the Rolling Stones' classic "Can't Get No Satisfaction" in term of lyrical content. "Giants" is the most Helloween-sounding song on the album and is definitely one of the most underrated songs by the band in this era. Heck, even songs like "In the Night" and "Windmill" come off beautifully despite the fact such tunes would never come to appease most fans.

As good as the above songs are in their own right, Chameleon really has some extremely sorry tracks. "Revolution Now" is what one would get if they took a song from Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime and stripped the song's lyrical content down to bone instead of having the different characters (Nikki, Dr. X) represent different worldly problems and ideals, "Music" is completely devoid of any musical coherence or substance, and "Step Out of Hell" comes off as the lamest anti-drug ad of the early 90's - a song like Starlight has the completely same message and is one hundred times better no matter if it's Kai or Kiske singing it.

The other problem with Chameleon is some of the best songs from the recording sessions ended up being b-sides for the four or five singles that where released to promote the album (how a song like "Step Out of Hell" was released as a single is still quite disturbing in my mind). Thankfully the second disc of the extended edition includes these excellent rarities: "Cut In The Middle" is an awesome rocker, "Get Me Out of Here" is a simply brilliant Kiss cover that isn't a Kiss cover and "Introduction" is simply a riot.

In the end, listeners that don't have a "if it isn't blank, it isn't worth listening to" mentality are the ones who will get the most out of Chameleon. While Helloween's other records may be undeniably more accepted, Chameleon is more than acceptable in my book.

You can see a complete list of all Helloween discography, or go back to the Helloween tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.