{"id":26055,"date":"2013-02-04T10:33:03","date_gmt":"2013-02-04T15:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=26055"},"modified":"2014-01-24T09:06:38","modified_gmt":"2014-01-24T14:06:38","slug":"helloween-straight-out-of-hell-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/helloween-straight-out-of-hell-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Helloween | Straight Out of Hell<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Marc C.<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"HelloweenWith 29 years, 14 studio and three live albums, three EPs, 26 singles and 12 members past and present, Helloween once again have proven if you count them out they’ll come roaring back stronger than ever! Formed in 1984, Hamburg, Germany’s greatest musical export has released their strongest offering since the widely regarded 1987 classic album Keeper of the Seven Keys, Part 1<\/em>. <\/p>\n

Following the release of Pink Bubbles Go Ape<\/em> in 1991, Helloween began a tailspin that included massive amounts of drama and culminated with replacing multiple members (sadly, original drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg died in 1995 following his firing in 1993) and releasing sub-par albums until 2005 with the release of Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Straight Out of Hell<\/em> roars out of the gate with the opening track \u201cNabataea\u201d so hold onto your hat for the ride! The second track \u201cWorld Of War\u201d leaves no doubt that Helloween has returned as they simply rip it up throughout. Track three \u201cLive Now!\u201d contains a more commercial vibe than the previous tracks yet still contains that typical Helloween melodic tone heard in almost every track on this album. Track four, \u201cFar From The Stars\u201d easily would have fit onto any of the Keeper albums; however, it still fits the mold for inclusion on this one. Track five \u201cBurning Sun\u201d is perhaps one of the weaker songs yet once the chorus kicks in it is unmistakable Helloween. Track six \u201cWaiting For The Thunder\u201d is by far one of the better songs on this album and without question the most commercial track. The piano melody carries the song throughout the chorus and should have been used more effectively through the rest of the song. <\/p>\n

Track seven \u201cHold Me In Your Arms\u201d is rather disappointing considering how powerful in melody the chorus is. The verses seem to meander until the arrival of the chorus which basically saves the song itself.<\/p>\n

Track eight \u201cWanna Be God\u201d contains every element of a live sing-a-long, however, it is only a paltry two minutes in length. Track nine, \u201cStraight Out Of Hell\u201d, would have been better served as filler rather than a title track. While a strong song in its own right, as a title track it seems slightly lacking. Track 10 \u201cAsshole\u201d (Yes, you read it right!) has its moments yet still reeks of filler. Tracks 11 through 14 \u201c Years\u201d, \u201cMake Fire Catch The Fly\u201d, Church Breaks Down\u201d and \u201cAnother Shot Of Life\u201d respectively are more of the same filler. While solid songs the album as whole should ended at nine songs and bowed out gracefully.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, Helloween is back and Straight Out Of Hell<\/em>, save for the final four tracks, is their best album since KOTSK, PT1 by far! Melodic, fast and precise and for the most part all Helloween!<\/p>\n

With the release of Straight Out Of Hell already #4 in Germany it is Helloween’s highest charting release ever!<\/p>\n

Gentlemen, welcome back!<\/p>\n

Genre: Power Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nAndi Deris – Vocals (Pink Cream 69)
\nMichael Weikath – Guitars
\nSascha Gerstner – Guitars & Keyboards
\nMarkus Grosskopf – Bass
\nDani L\u00f6ble – Drums <\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. Nabataea
\n2. World Of War
\n3. Live Now!
\n4. Far From The Stars
\n5. \u2013 Burning Sun
\n6. Waiting For The Thunder
\n7. Hold Me In Your Arms
\n8. Wanna Be God
\n9. Straight Out Of Hell
\n10. Asshole
\n11. Years
\n12. Make Fire Catch The Fly
\n13. Church Breaks Down
\n14. Another Shot Of Life<\/p>\n

Label: The End Records<\/p>\n

Websites:
\nwww.helloween.org<\/a>
\nwww.facebook.com\/helloweenofficial<\/a>
\nwww.twitter.com\/helloweenorg<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating 9.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Marc C. – Columnist — With 29 years, 14 studio and three live albums, three EPs, 26 singles and 12 members past and present, Helloween once again have proven if you count them out […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,748,1097,334,6197,639],"class_list":{"0":"post-26055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2013","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-helloween","9":"tag-power-metal","10":"tag-review","11":"tag-straight-out-of-hell","12":"tag-the-end-records"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26055\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}