Power metal pioneers. If we ever had to sum up what Helloween is all about, that would be enough. The vast majority of the HELLOWEEN discography is either genre-defining classics (“Keeper Of The Seven Keys” parts 1 and 2, “Walls Of Jericho”) or great albums that any band would envy (“The Dark Ride”, “Better Than Raw”, “Master Of The Rings” etc.). This years’ new record “My God-Given Right” marks 30 years in the making.
The album starts in a trademark HELLOWEEN way with its first 5 songs: “Heroes” shows us some great aggressive riffage and a good balance between speed and melodies, the chorus could have been a bit better though. “Battle’s Won” is the counterpoint to the previous song, a full-speed ahead song with the melodies we love in a Helloween chorus. Up next the keyboard-driven hit “My God-Given RIght” with a memorable chorus and guitar theme. No wonder it was chosen to be the video of the album. “Stay Crazy” kicks in ballad-esque, turning into a more rocking track with the ever-positive Helloween lyrical message and a great chorus. “Lost In America” brings another Helloween trademark, the sense of humor they have. The band got lost in America and what do they do? They write a hit song about it in the style of “I Want Out”, “I Can”, “World Of Fantasy” and so on!!
Time for some different influences in the riffing, with the almost stoner-like intro riff of “Russian Roule”, setting the tone for the rest of the song, a really dirty song for HELLOWEEN standards. One of the heaviest and atmospheric tracks of the record follows called “The Swing Of A Fallen World” with a fast outburst making it one of the bests on the record. More stoner-like references in the albums’ ballad called “Like Everybody Else”, a beautiful song.
At this point of the album, the tempo is picked up once more with “Creatures In Heaven”, giving us more trademark HELLOWEEN melodies/solos and lots of classic metal riffage to snap necks in live shows! More of the same is in store with the groovier and catchier “If God Loves Rock N Roll” (Dio loves it, question answered, end of story!). The Maiden-esque “Living On The Edge” follows, being one of the writers’ personal favorites.
All hell breaks loose on “Claws” with lots of speed in the intro and a trademark Andi Deris scream, in one of the most aggressive and technical tracks on the record. We’ve reached the final song of the record, “You, Still Of War” a keyboard driven epic in the way only HELLOWEEN know how to make them.
Another really good HELLOWEEN record with a few flaws, one being some melodies here and there, the other being its duration, which could be lessened to 45 minutes easily. But still it’s a really good record for fans to enjoy.
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