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Master of the Rings

Helloween - Master of the Rings Audio CD

A fair review of the Helloween "Master of the Rings" 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: Master of the Rings
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-05-16
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Irritation (Weik Etitude 112 in C) [Instrumental] 2: Sole Survivor 3: Where the Rain Grows 4: Why? 5: Mr. Ego (Take Me Down) 6: Perfect Gentleman 7: The Game Is On 8: Secret Alibi 9: Take Me Home 10: In the Middle of a Heartbeat 11: Still We Go 12: Can't Fight Your Desire [*] 13: Star Invasion [*] 14: Cold Sweat [*] 15: Silicon Dreams [*] 16: Grapowski's Malmsuite 1001 [*] 17: I Stole Your Love [*] 18: Closer to Home [*]

Good CD
Michael Kiske Is GREAT. This CD is the return of Helloween to Metal, but Andi Deris is far, very far behind Michael Kiske.

Master of the Rings!
I didn't really care for Chameleon, but I thought Pink Bubbles go Ape was pretty good, at least it was metal, unlike Chameleon. When I first got into Helloween, I would and listen to the albums Walls of Jericho and Keeper of the Seven Keys part I and II. After listening to those I realized I had enough Helloween, but then one day I heard the track called "Where the Rain Grows" off the Master of the Rings albums. I suddenly became interested in the album. Then I listened to samples of the album that Amazon offers. I was amazed just by 30 second samples. So I bought this deluxe edition of the album. This has become my second favorite Helloween album, with Walls of Jericho at #1. The bonus disc is great. It has rare singles and other cool stuff. This is metal at its finest.

This is my rating of each track:
1. "Irritation" ****
2. "Sole Survivor" *****
3. "Where The Rain Grows" *****
4. "Why?" *****
5. "Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)" ****
6. "Perfect Gentleman" ****
7. "The Game Is On" ***
8. "Secret Alibi" ***
9. "Take Me Home" ***
10. "In The Middle Of A Heartbeat" **
11. "Still We Go" ****

Also recommended: Other Helloween albums, Gamma Ray, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Destruction, Running Wild, Omen, Saxon, Mercyful Fate, Fates Warning, Queensryche, Candlemass, Death, Trouble, UFO, and Watchtower.

Back on Track
In addition to these lackluster albums, much of the band's initial lineup had departed, which made 1994's Master of the Rings a "do or die" album. After unleashing a pair of albums (Keeper of the Seven Keys Parts I & II) that would set the power metal world on fire, Helloween served up two albums that can be described as bizarre (Pink Bubbles Go Ape) and confused (Chameleon) at best.

This is the album Helloween should have released just after Keeper Part II. Master of the Rings is a tight, melodic power metal album that avoids the goofball humor of Pink Bubbles Go Ape (Heavy Metal Hamsters, anyone) as well as the watered down rock of Chameleon. Master of the Rings is a complete breath of fresh air, thanks in large part to new vocalist Andi Deris, whose tenure with melodic rockers Pink Cream 69 made him the ideal choice to replace Michael Kiske. Deris's powerful vocal delivery, plus his songwriting abilities made him a true asset to Helloween. This is a fantastic power metal album all the way through (OK, perhaps the obligatory instrumental introductory track doesn't add much), and one that should bring old school Helloween fans back to the fold.

Sanctuary finally got around to remastering the Helloween catalog earlier this year, and they certainly did it right. In addition to digitally remastered sound, the reissued version of Master of the Rings serves up an entire disc full of bonus tracks, including covers of Thin Lizzy, KISS, and Grand Funk Railroad, plus a crazy guitar extravaganza called Grapowski's Malmsuite 1001. You also get expanded liner notes, photos, etc. plus a nifty slipcase for the disc.

This is what a remastered version of a great album is supposed to look and sound like. If you're already a Helloween fan, it's time to replace your old version!
.

a long over looked power metal masterpiece.(it wants what it wants and what it wants is metal)
my name is brandon and i have been collecting power metal(classic metal,true metal,symphonic,epic,) or just to make a long sentence short, ive collected and worshiped real metal since i was old enough to turn the knobs on the stereo. hello fellow metallians. it has allways captivated me and i could never get enough. i was super lucky to come across this cd in a used cd store in the middle of nowhere about 8 years ago. i can not say just how amazing this cd is. needless to say i have well over 1000 metal albums that i am extremely proud of and this is one of my favorites. andi deris really shines on this cd. the sound here is pure mellodic power metal. the songs where the rain grows and soul survivor are simply amazing and just explode with mellody. the lead riff is amazing and blends perfectly with overlapping lead mellody to make a sound that will captivate you. this album brings together the power of time of the oath and blends it with the mellody and precision musicianship of andi's former band pink cream 69. just listen to tracks like, the perfect gentelman andwhy, or mr ego. these songs sound so much like pc 69 its not even funny. this cd is loaded. there is not one song that sucks on here. from start to finish this album will put you in a metal trance and take you on an amazing journey through what is to me the best album andi deris has ever done with helloween. this cd is so catchy and full of hooks it would be very hard for any band to copy it. i truly respect helloween, and i absolutely love the walls of jhericho which is truly one of the first true power metal albums ever. and kai hansen is probably one of the biggest influences in power metal today, hell he is the god father of power metal. but any way do not over look this cd, it demands attention and reaches out for the hearts of power metal fans all over the world. also if you truly love power metal you should check out, silent force, freternia, pyramaze, star one, stormhammer, pretty maids, gamma ray, primal fear, iron savior, stormwitch, liege lord, rhapsody, sonata arctica, balance of power, axenstar, paragon,attacker,udo,grave digger, wolf, feinstein,warlock,priest(painkiller is simply amazing), eidolon, zonata, raw head rexx, into eternity, running wild, i could go on forever but now i must come to a close and just say that all you brothers and sisters in metal should really give this cd a try i promise you will not be dissapointed, this classic deserves a spot in every true metallians collection, your friend in metal, brandon whitson.

Sort of like Judas Priest's
That's not what I mean. Okay, so it doesn't sound a damn thing like Judas Priest. What I mean is in the late 80's Judas Priest went in a bad direction with "Turbo" much like Helloween did with "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" and the even worse, "Chameleon". With Judas Priest, they released "Ram it Down" which was partly like the [. . . ] from "Turbo" but it also was a step in the right direction, with a much heavier and better album as a whole but because of this, it was a very unbalanced album. This, essentially is the same thing that you see with "Master of the Rings".

In "Master of the Rings" there are a lot of great tracks in here, most of them taking place in the first half of the album. I would say track 1-6 are really great, my personal favorite being "Perfect Gentleman". This is a great song with a kicking riff.

However, after the "Perfect Gentlemen" it seems as though the band's creativity declines significantly. There just isn't a whole lot of interest and spark to them like the previous tracks which is why at the end of the day I give this album 3 stars, although I would lean towards 3 1/2. It's not a bad album at all, it's just very uneven.

Now, as far as this edition goes, I think it's worth it. No, the bonus tracks aren't GREAT but they aren't bad, some of them are pretty decent and in fact, I find a number of these better than the latter part of the album, excluding the final bonus track which is very strange. When I listened to this song, "Closer to Home" I felt as though I was not listening to Helloween but some different band with a completely different sound. The strangest part of thsi track though is that it doesn't even sound like Andi Deris, it sounds like a completely different singer entirely. I know Deris used to be with Pink Cream 69 but maybe this was a song intended for them? I don't know that for sure, I just know this is a very peculiar track.

Bottom line though, I reccomend this album to any Helloween fan or any power metal fan, just don't expect the best of the best here. Also, take into account that this is a return to the good Helloween with a brand new singer and drummer.

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.