Transilvania - Of Sleep and Death (2021)

I'm a massive whore for blackened speed and thrash metal, and I make no apologies for that, nor should any be necessary, whether we're dealing with the most rudimentary Venom worship or bands that can elevate the sinister vibes of that hybrid to the next level. From all appearances, the Austrian act Transilvania seems to fall into this latter category, with some classical and classy-looking, creepy artwork which doesn't seem too typical for the niche, and a perhaps more varied approach to writing than those who usually blaze along with their (welcome) combinations of Seven Churches, Bathory, Welcome to Hell and Show No Mercy. The actual music here, upon experience, feels a little more like the purely traditional black metal once penned by Quorthon and his Scandinavian peers of the rawer persuasion decades ago, but there are a handful of more overtly thrash inserts here to keep it a fraction more diverse than it might have been.

Of Sleep and Death is certainly one for the conventional fan of vampiric, un-fucks-giving European black metal with its nasty edge and no sense of contrasted warmth or comfort. It's almost as if you devolved a band like Watain back a step to their earlier or mid-career material, but sent their mindset back a few centuries from its shock rock Satanism. And I mean that as a compliment to both parties, but you get the point...brash, dire melodic onslaughts of tremolo picked patterns or slightly dissonant chords that are accompanied by thundering kick-work and blasts that never border on the ridiculous, but ensure that there is this constant, oppressive sensation of being present at some East European war during the 15h century. The vocals are a nice, nasty rasp with some heft to it so it's a little deeper than the snarlier black metal bands, and he'll often throw in some manlier, hoarse shouts that help inflict some further personality. Once in awhile the way the bass roils around and some of the more playful melodies erupt in a tune such as "Hekateion", or the galloping title track, it's almost like a vicious take on a folksy influence, giving me a hint of the great Slovakians Malokarpatan, but this stuff is unremittingly savage in all cases.

Nowhere is this obscenely catchy or distinct, to be honest, since it stands so firm on the vile shoulders of its first wave black and thrash influences, but I think it benefits from the slightly unhinged production which prevents the drumming or the blood-drenched guitars from sounding too neutered or polished. I think fans of those first two Bathory albums who might seek such a style with a slight bit more focus and balanced mix will absolutely devour this one, but the ghoulish sincerity and belligerent mood might also sate fans of the Medieval black metal scene so strong in France, or really anyone who worships old Marduk, Dark Funeral, and their ilk. A keyboard or two is well implemented to help the listener meld into its cold castle walls of torture. There's a timelessness about it, much like some of its lyrical subject matter, which equally rewards with repeated listens, and it's something you could see as a modern cult classic to mirror the days in which this style sounded reckless and dangerous and totally malevolent to whoever it may concern.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://www.facebook.com/transilvaniaaustria/?fref=ts

Cannibal Corpse - Violence Unimagined (2021)

Cannibal Corpse is one of those acts whose audience seems to always fluctuate between static appreciation and stagnant indifference, so it's curious to see the raised level of buzz concerning their first full-length proper with Erik Rutan on-board as a full-time guitarist and writer. A lot of the chatter revolves around the different sound he brings to the band, and I'll admit that there's one area in which he certainly contributes to a mildly different experience, but I think ultimately Violence Unimagined falls right in line with the style has been exploring since Corpsegrinder joined the band for Vile, and it's one that some might continue to find samey and repetitious in terms of its riffing portfolio, and that others like myself will just continue to admire with each seasoned recording...this is not a band that really ever makes mistakes or half-asses anything, there have been a few albums that don't quite past muster, but Violence Unimagined is not among them.

Yes, you might hear a little bit of the Hate Eternal and Ripping Corpse bleed into Cannibal's forceful, thrash-inspired brutality, but I'd have to say that if not for some of his spurious leads, which bear a degree of distinction in the death metal community, most wouldn't really be able to glean a difference. And that's because, for all the time Erik has spent producing, touring and helping out with this band, he's gotten a complete grasp of what they're all about, and by no means is he out to step on any toes. This is business as usual, with the one exception that you might find a few of the rhythm guitar patterns a little more clinical, and the leads here to just be more epically fleshed and rounded out. He and Barrett remain just as synced as Rob was with Pat, but occasionally you get a dissonant, weirder, bouncier or atmospheric riff that feels more akin to what Erik would insert into his mainstay. But with Alex and Paul plugging and battering along beneath them, and George giving plastering his trademark, agile, syllabic guttural attack on top, you could probably mix and match some of these tunes in with anything from Kill to A Skeletal Domain to Gore Obsessed and be none the wiser, other than  perhaps a few production details.

And I have no problem with that whatsoever, because this band remains the posterchild for the planned, professional death metal assault which I can depend on year in, year out. Vince Locke's gruesome cover artwork is just as edge-worthy as its ever been, and the band supports that with loads of riff-intensive maiming and bludgeoning which I promise will never put you to sleep. There are some slight variations as always within the actual guitar structures, but all fall within a similar lexicon to what you've heard from the band post-The Bleeding, with just enough freshness to keep this one engaging even if you had been a little plagued with redundant feelings for some of its more recent predecessors. Now I'm not going to say this one has a load of absolutely unforgettable riffs; many are just permutations of their predictable, punishing backlog, but the chugging and feral thrashing that has clung with the band since its origins blend into some eerie tremolo picked patterns that will put you in carnage heaven. Paul's performance here is monstrous, the fills intensifying everything around them, and you don't need yet another of my reminders of how Alex is one of the best ever...I don't know that this style works without his swift and malevolent anchoring presence below the hacking higher pitched axes.

Persistence pays off again, and much of this material is set-ready to blend in with their other 100+ choice cuts dating back to the mid-90s. I did find the production a little dry, and like I said there isn't really a particular hit single here which stands out for me far above its surroundings, but rather the whole 43-minute experience had me shit-kicking my office and experiencing daymares of rending flesh, horrifying killers and apocalypses brought to you by the undead. And that earns my money. Every. Single. Time.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

Autopsy vs. Bloodbath EP (2017)

Beyond the fact that the Autopsy vs. Bloodbath split automatically warrants attention for featuring a pair of the genre's hottest commodities, gruesome US legends Autopsy and Swedish all-star retro-death masters Bloodbath, there's a bit more of a gimmick to this 7" in than might first appear. The Californians are covering one of their own member's old bands, also called Bloodbath, and the Swedes are covering the opening track "Blood Bath" off the debut album To the Gory End by the UK veteran death metallers Cancer. It's quick, it's silly, and it's more than likely to be soaked in viscera and rack up the cost of more than a few body bags in the process, and to be frank I rather like this kind of 'creative' vision for a collectors' item, rather than just a band pressing a couple tunes off an album onto 7" for shits and giggles...a practice that has thankfully become scarcer now that sales of vinyl are back in full swing.

Danny Coralles had been with Autopsy for pretty much all its full-length albums and the the vast majority of the band's history, so it's cool to them throwing up a cover for one of his early demo bands, and this one is taken from that Bloodbath's initial 1986 demo Fuck Society. As you might guess it's gnarly, fast-paced crossover thrash but now being given that additional splatter effect from Chris's vocals which probably give it a little more personality than it deserves, because the music for "Fuck You!!!" itself is bog standard and predictable in the rhythm department, with a nice, wild lead attached that is its only saving grace. It's also not quite living up to the horror/slasher elements hinted at by the cover, but this is balanced out by the far cooler Cancer cover by the Swedes and 'Old Nick' Holmes, which is meatier, morbid and ominous in a way that the original only brushed upon. In fact I enjoyed the "Blood Bath" cover more than anything off the band's most recent album of originals, The Arrow of Satan is Drawn. It's dumb, bludgeoning, evil with the little synthesizers, and Nick's voice sounds good and ugly and really drives it through the cemetery ditch.

But that's all there is to it...under six minutes of material, pressed by Peaceville and sent out to the rabid legions of fans, who will probably leave it in the sleeves and plastic as a curiosity to rummage through, and rarely will anyone listen to it. What I personally got out of this is that I'd love to hear Bloodbath record an entire album of old death metal covers, especially if they keep them from the lesser tier acts out of Europe and the US. This one sounds great and I'd urge every fan of the band to at least check it out streaming online somewhere. The cover image is pretty cool too, with that retro slasher vibe but I just don't know that Autopsy's choice even tunes into much thematically, and that gives a slight imbalance to the whole product for me, although I understand how it works into the 'joke' of the release.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

http://www.bloodbath.biz/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050176223094

Mercyful Fate - Time (1994)

While I don't take exception to records like Into the Unknown or 9, which manage to channel most of Mercyful Fate's positive qualities, it's 1994 and Time which delineates the border for me between the Danes' 'timeless' (oh boy, I did not plan that) works, and those that really don't strike much of a chord with me when I'm scanning through the albums I wanna upload to my iPhone or whatnot. While it holds nothing on my unholy trinity of Don't Break the Oath, Melissa and In the Shadows, it is the last album that I can listen to entirely without ever really needing to skip any weaker tracks, the last one chronologically which I feel an urge to actually experience in sum. It just manages to maintain that sinister air of mystery that surrounded the band (and King's solo career) through the 80s, and for all intensive purposes it sounds like a record which belongs to that era...rather than being smack dab in the middle of a decade in which a group like this one only managed to thrive off its legacy rather than any new string of cult classic material.

Structurally, it's not a far cry from In the Shadows, in that it relies so heavily on mid-paced songs and extremely melodic, almost anthemic vocal lines from King, but at the same time it's both smoother and less ambitious. The lyrics still convey the themes of mysticism and horror, from the familiar ground of "Witches' Dance" which wouldn't have felt out of place on King Diamond's The Eye, to "The Mad Arab" which is a direct tribute to H.P. Lovecraft's recurring Abdul Alhazred. Diamond sounds perfect here as he shifts between his ghostly falsettos and impish lower pitches, in fact he throws a lot of the 'character' into his performance that many would probably equate more with his solo band, and I think of the whole Fate canon this is likely the greatest aesthetic 'crossover' between the two. Nary a tune passes without some memorable vocal passage, and it doubles down on how you take a listen to an album like Dead Again, or the pathetic The Graveyard and wonder where all this magic disappeared to in such a short time? Time might not have all the band's hits, but it is surely determined to make itself memorable throughout the 47 minute duration and it largely succeeds.

Another real strength here is how with these largely mid-tempo tunes the Denner/Shermann duo can lay into all manner of their great, groovy riffs, as well as the mildly progressive bent they often take with their riffs, just so that they eclipse the utter simplicity of audience expectations. Lots of great, doomy moments here with the drums shuffling along like graveyard creepers as King emits some exotic and pained vocal narration, and like In the Shadows before it, or the first decade of solo albums, the entire affair seems like its just focused on the listener experiencing this one in some mental moonlight, haunted landscape, tower or manor if the real thing isn't available. The title track with its organs and freakish harmonized lullaby vocals seems like it might have stepped out of a session for Them or Conspiracy, down to how it just sails right into those dreamy guitar melodies and chorus. Synthesizers, wah-wah and other effects are thrown in tastefully, and although I didn't have the same problem with the drums on its predecessor that some seemed to, I think Snow Shaw's beats here might prove a little more durable and evenly mixed to support the guitars and vocals. Sharlee's bass is perfectly supportive and steps away just as often as it needs to, with a great tone that hovers right above the kick.

The contrast between the lucid vocals and dirty riffs of "Mirror", unforgettable anthems like opener "Nightmare Be Thy Name" and "Witches' Dance"...this one just never quits playing to its strengths, and it's still a pleasure to experience 27 years later. Like many of his solo efforts, this one's also a perfect Halloween listen, and was released in that very month upon arrival. It's 'classy' of course, this one isn't about the blood and guts but the evergreen themes of Gothic, occult or even cosmic horror that will still send a chill down your spine at any age, regardless of the melodic breezes on which they are carried. It may not be a masterpiece, but it's great, and it STAYS great. At the risk of broken record status, I have to reiterate how these first four Mercyful Fate full-lengths, along with the first 5-6 King Diamond represent one of the most enduring bodies of work in my whole music collection. Seasonal or otherwise, they don't seem to age a day to when I first came across them from the raw, ripe ages of 10-20 years old. I cannot thank King and both his crews enough for the countless hours of enjoyment and escape they've written. Even my idiosyncratic Country lovin' big city significant other has fallen under these spells.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10] (prayer in unknown tongue)

https://mercyfulfatecoven.com/

Summer Slay-cation 2021

 

Off on my usual Summer vacation, but I will return in October for the annual horror metal reviews! Thanks to you fine folks for stopping by, as always. - autothrall

Helloween - Metal Jukebox (1999)

The idea of cover albums in power metal is no rarity; groups such as Hammerfall and Powerwolf have put out some pretty damn good collections, plugging their selections directly into their own sounds and ending up with something they could use positively to expand out their set lists and pay such tributes forward. When Metal Jukebox was first announces, I was naturally curious, since this was coming from a band that was a favorite of mine, and I wanted to hear what choices they'd make and whether they'd translate them into a proper Helloween feel or if they'd try to conform themselves a little more to the picks. I think, for the most part, they succeed in the former, with the caveat that this is nothing special overall and beyond its value of a curiosity, there's only about an EP's worth of material here I enjoy revisiting.

The opener is a scorcher, a cover of one of my favorite Scorpions tracks "He's a Woman, She's a Man", and the generally over-the-top Mr. Deris does a fantastic job applying his more schizo, crazy side to the original Klaus vocals without derailing it...plus, the slightly heavier approach with the drums and guitars really works on this one, and it's no surprise that it's probably one of the more obvious covers of the band you'd do beyond "Rock You Like a Hurricane", etc. ABBA's "Lay All Your Love On Me" actually comes off like a track from the Time of the Oath sessions...the production on the guitars isn't perfect, but adding the heaviness is awesome, and it's really atmospheric, with some great bass grooves. Focus' "Hocus Pocus" is a fun track to begin with, and while Helloween makes it sound even sillier than the original, it's still a damn fine cover and Deris really stretches his vocals here. Otherwise, there just aren't many that inspired me all that much..."Space Oddity", "All My Loving", "White Room", or Faith No More's "From Out of Nowhere", which is one of the bigger surprise inclusions, all do a decent job of emulating the originals and inserting Andi's voice, but they're all forgettable and taste-wise some of them are just too uninspired and generic as selections.

The others beyond that just aren't all that great, or a little disjointed and uneven like their "Locomotive Breath". Nothing here is terribly miscalculated, for instance even on some of the weaker covers they pull off a good guitar tone or vocal line, but it's almost like in showing the band's diverse influences and roots they end up making Metal Jukebox a less coherent or interesting experience. I've certainly heard far worse cover collections, don't get me wrong...as long as you're into the Andi era and a lot of classic rock and hard rock tuneage, you'll be entertained for enough of a window that you won't regret the experience, but I almost wish they had ramped up the intensity with a few more ragers like the Scorpions cover, or some better, highly arranged adaptations of stuff like the ABBA track. At least this is a superior diversion for Helloween fans than the lamentable Unarmed album about a decade later.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

https://www.helloween.org/

Helloween - The Best * The Rest * The Rare (1991)

The Best, The Rest, The Rare really walks the line between being a total label-driven bullshit retread compilation and something that was likely invaluable at the time, for fans like myself who weren't able to get our greedy paws on all of its more obscure gems and B-sides. It was not at all difficult to acquire Walls of Jericho or the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums in the early 90s, I had already had the cassette versions for years and would soon pounce on the CDs once I got my first disc player as a High School graduation gift in 1992. So right there, I can tell you that about 50% of the material on here is just lifted from those and ported over so it can offer up a 'greatest hits' for a band that was still rather in its youthful phase despite already being into its second and more popular phase with Kiske singing.

We didn't need another pressing of "I Want Out" or "Future World", or even "Judas", but of course it's in the name of the collection, and I can't fault them at least for their taste because all of these cuts are all time favorites and highly memorable. At least going into it, we knew that the diehards would only be focused on that last third of the title, 'The Rare', and to that there were a few treats included from singles that I didn't own or hadn't even heard the B-sides of. "Save Us" was my favorite, a raging anthem with amazing vocals and guitar melodies that was surely among the harder hitting tunes the band had put out at that time, and that chorus part...simply put, this is one of my fave Helloween tunes to this day, so even if had to suffer the cash grab component of this release it was slightly worthwhile. The similarly titled "Savage" was another highlight, and another really heavy track that was pretty much a thrasher but imbued with those great harmonic vocals, and a catchy chorus. "Livin' Ain't No Crime" is decent enough if you love Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I, and "Dont Run for Cover" is also alright, but for me the weakest of the tracks that were unique to me when I bought this tape.

The one other gem here was the Kiske-sung version of "Victim of Fate", which worked very well, even if I still prefer the more acidic Kai vocals of the original. If you were a Helloween fan around this time, there was no chance you weren't going to pursue this, just to hear that 5-songs, EP length chunk of value, and for that very same reason, you also didn't need the rest of the stuff which you likely already owned. If you were brand new coming to this without any prior knowledge of the band, then you probably would have been attracted to almost all this material, even most of the worthy rarities, so from that angle it's not that bad of a deal. A bucket of vomit has more value to me than a 'greatest hits' comp of any sort, and I am well on the record for that, but again, this one is conflicting because they snuck on the good shit that you wanted with other shit that you already had... These days, The Best, The Rest, The Rare is far less interesting since most of its handful of gems are available on CD or other re-releases of their classic albums, but for 1991 I took the good with the bad, just skipped past the songs I'd rather listen to in their native original album environments, and enjoyed the ones I didn't have.

Verdict: Indifference [5.5/10]

https://www.helloween.org/

Helloween - Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991)

Even with the advance knowledge that Helloween had adopted a silly side with tracks like "Dr. Stein", I saw the cover and title for Pink Bubbles Go Ape and knew something must be wrong. A woman holding a fish in what looks like a hotel hallway? I don't really see any pink bubbles...or any apes, and the logo placement and the title font are butt fucking ugly. And then I saw it was Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis and all that highfalutin jazz, who have about a 50/50 rate of coming up with a very cool cover idea or pretentious rubbish for the rock world; this one falling into that latter category. The album was actually not too easy to get around my area, but I finally landed the cassette and was not happy with what I was seeing, and once I hit play, I wasn't terribly fond of what I was hearing either...

That little acoustic intro ditty title track is absolute nonsense, its boring and doesn't generate excitement whatsoever for what's coming, which is too bad, because at least with "Kids of the Century" you get a proper sounding Helloween track, with a strong and fresh sounding production, even if it lacks the really memorable hooks and chorus of the two Kiske-fronted albums before it. And putting aside the aesthetics of the whole affair, which are terrible, this is my chief complaint with Pink Bubbles Go Ape. The music here, even at its strongest, is simply not fit to lick the boots of Keeper of the Seven Keys, and for a band that was on the precipice of becoming ginormous, this was a colossal letdown and could have proven a career ender on many levels. I understand the group was starting to have some internal problems and the writing was on the wall, but that didn't exactly soften the blow when I was such a fan of that 1985-1988 period when they were among my champions. It doesn't lack for the metal, don't get me wrong, even though there's a little bit more of a hard rock influence coursing through cuts like "Back on the Streets", "Heavy Metal Hamsters" or "Goin' Home",  they still put the pedal to it.

In fact, if we cut off a lot of the chaff on Pink Bubbles Go Ape, we'd have a passable EP. I'd keep "Kids of the Century", and the surprisingly powerful "Someone's Crying" which maintains that anthemic Euro power metal quality we so loved, and then "Mankind" and "The Chance" would round it out, both of which are also fairly catchy and melodic. None of these is top flight Helloween, but it would have tided me over for a year or so. Maybe even combining it with the best from Chameleon, we might a solid but short album. Tunes like "Your Turn", "I'm Doin' Fine, Crazy Man", and "Number One" just don't cut it, even if the band is trying to show that they can spread their wings into even more accessible turf. And as outrageous as it might have been to have a new hit called "Heavy Metal Hamsters", the title of which is the only detail many people even remember about this album, it just doesn't deliver with that chorus, in which Kiske sounds like he's going limp. Kai would later pen "Rick & Famous" for Gamma Ray, which is a lyrically and musically a similar idea only 100x better. In fact, there are some parallels in a lot of the writing here to that first Gamma Ray album, but it's not as good.

This was actually a Chris Tsangarides production, sort of a legend in the hard rock/metal field, and I think he does a decent enough job of coming up with a sound that further modernized where the band was at on the last two. The details are all clear, from the bass lines to the drums and synths, and Kiske sounds pretty comparable to the prior outings. When I was younger, I remember thinking that at least it sounded pleasant coming out of the speakers, but the tunes were largely just a crushing disappointment. Even if you compare it to the reprinted, rarer material on The Best, The Rest, The Rare like "Save Us", which I got the same year, it comes up well short. The Death of Helloween Part I? We'll see...

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10]

https://www.helloween.org/

Powerwolf - Call of the Wild (2021)

Call of the Wild sadly doesn't offer up anything new or nuanced as far as the Powerwolf formula. From the songwriting to the very samey look to the cover artwork, if could be mistaken for any of the last 4-5 albums they've released, and that seems such a shame, for a band which puts this much effort into its material to play it so safe, when the formidable talent they've got could be applied more creatively. More musical tones, more color tones, new concepts. I notice too that this seems to a trend among the European power sect, even my most beloved bands do enter these long ruts of redundant releases, you could have said the same for a Running Wild or U.D.O. Fortunately, they both still put out a lot of kickass albums over the majority of their career, and ALSO fortunate is that Powerwolf have at least come up with a more fun set of originals than they have in years. Combine that with the pretty amazing 3CD-set they've put together for their fans, and Call of the Wild, despite my misgivings, is still probably my favorite album they've wrought upon us since the first three.

You pretty much know the drill if you've heard anything they've produced over the last decade or so, the transition into the more orchestra-focused bombast of the Goth horror alternative to Sabaton continues, though even at their worst I think I enjoy what Attila and company come up with far more than most of the Swedes' material. Big, soaring heavy/power metal riffs, entertaining and often innuendo-strung lyrics and choruses, constant orchestration which almost always resembles the Wagner school, and Attila's distinct vocals which are delivered at the same quality and pitch they always have been, the guy shifting between his operatic tricks and the weight and volume that he needs to secure himself among that whole class of character-driven German power metal vocalists like Rolf Kasparek, Hansi Kursch, Kai Hansen, Andi Deris and Chris Boltendahl. The mix of strings and choirs is probably a notch higher quality than their previous shots, although it doesn't distance itself much structurally. The leads and riffs are good if not totally standout, the drumming is potent and the entire atmosphere of this could be heard to diamond cut the band's style into its most coherent yet. All of the songs here are fun enough, beyond the initial singles you've got stuff like "Varcolac", "Dancing With the Dead", "Sermon of Swords", "Undress to Confess" and "Reverent of Rats" which I'd be happy to mix into any Powerwolf playlist, and as with a lot of records, if you're new to this symphonic/operatic style of metal I think you'll easily be blown away by how professional and comfortable they sound in the niche.

Beyond the fact that it's 'more of the same but better', the bonus content here is quite excellent. There's a second disc of 'hits' from the band's catalogue in which they're joined by a number of other popular vocalists. A few of them try the wedge in 'extreme' vocals of folks like Alissa White-Gluz, Johan Hegg and 'Speed' Strid to mixed results, White-Gluz in particular sounds cheesy but then I've never been a fan of her style. The cleaner approaches taken by Euro power metal royalty Ralf Scheepers and Doro Pesch are quite though, and I was quite surprised by the results when they used some more Goth vocals like Chris Harms. All in all though, I enjoyed listening through this a lot, its another example of how the band gives its audience their money's worth, I mean if you're going to shell out $20-25 for the 3CD or 3LP it's just not something you'll regret. The final disc is the usual purely orchestral treatment of the new tunes, and some of them really shine here, especially at the end with the trio of "Sermon of Swords", "Undress to Confess" and "Reverent of Rats", all memorable enough to toss on your speakers when you're running your epic fantasy RPGs or wargames. Again, Powerwolf is all about the value, and these extra discs might end up getting at least 50% the play as the core album.

I will reiterate that I wouldn't complain if Powerwolf took some risks to evolve a little, maybe even 'devolve' a little back to the superb songwriting of their masterful Lupus Dei sophomore, still my fave after all these years. There were surely some symphonic elements, but they felt more restrained back then and I'd love if if they got back to more guitar-centric territory. New color palettes and artwork also wouldn't hurt; Zsofia Dankova's extremely talented and I think she could mix it up a little if they wanted her to. But as far as the overall Call of the Wild impressions, it's rock solid and I've certainly enjoyed the time I've spent with it so far, it would make a great crowning jewel to transition into territories even more haunted, atmospheric, lycanthropic, and hopefully, surprising.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (breaking down the altar and the verse)

https://www.powerwolf.net/

Helloween - Chameleon (1993)

Chameleon is widely considered the nadir of Helloween's career, even more lowly than Pink Bubbles Go Ape, and I can entirely understand and even sympathize with that sentiment...but I don't agree with it. Like its esteemed predecessor, I had to find this one on import, because if the 90s musical trends weren't enough to stick a fork in the trajectory of a European power metal band, Pink Bubbles certainly was. Aesthetically it's another instant facepalm moment, the four splashes of paint and the quaint little logo placement and title font make this look like some sort of 80s prog pop album by someone like Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel or The Police. It does not inspire confidence, and it's not the only weird choice made for this album, but at least when I look at it I don't want to leap off a building like when I saw the prior album artwork. It's just a boring minimalism that only slightly matches up with the qualities of the music.

I have to disclose here that I do have a soft spot for Chameleon because it contains one track which I count among my all-time Helloween favorites, and that is "Giants". Atmospheric, gorgeous, and powerful, it has this more airy feel to it than anything I had heard them do before, but still driven with a great, heavy guitar riff and a similar anthemic melodic nature, just delivered in a more spacious format. That chorus sends an emotional chill right down my spine, the bass playing is great with the fills, it's got a cool orchestrated breakdown in the bridge, and there's just not a second I'd change of it, sheer excellence. And it's this atmosphere which actually extends across a lot of the album, also showing up songs like "First Time". This feels like a Helloween evolved (or devolved), for better or worse, and its offering something its predecessors didn't. It's not exactly experimental, but it definitely dips its toes into a little of the proggier rock that the cover hints at, and the band even tries some non-ironic attempts at pop or soft rock with cuts like "I Don't Wanna Cry No More", "In the Night" and "Windmill", and I'm not so much a fan of those, but the band does a reasonable enough job with them that I can't bring myself to hate it.

Other cuts like "Revolution Now" bring in a bluesy, Zeppelin hard rock influence and mesh that in some some of the spacious, acoustic moments and it's at least catchy the first few times through. It's almost like Chameleon is trying to live up to its namesake, and that is ultimately one of the reasons I still count it among the lower rungs of their studio efforts, because it's all over the place, and other than the general mood created by the production, it's often incoherent. Like with Pink Bubbles, I could put together a good EP's worth of material that I like to revisit, and an even better one here ("First Time", "When the Sinner", "Giants", and "Step Out of Hell"), but it's really not one where I find myself ever wanting to listen straight through. "Giants" will always remain in my Helloween playlist, but I don't think anything else here is quite so vital to me. Certainly I could understand how so much of this was a turnoff for a lot of fans who were probably already dismayed with the fourth album and were digging Helloween a plot that was two feet wide and six feet deep. As history would dictate, though, nobody should've been too quick to lay on that topsoil.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

https://www.helloween.org/