Gambling With The Devil - Helloween

Picture, if you can, a young man wearing jeans and leather, trying to grow his hair, but finding he looked more like a poodle than a rock star - which is probably what he was trying to portray (the rock star, not the poodle). Well, that would-be rock star impersonator is me and it is hard to believe that that man was once I. It was around that era that I discovered Helloween for the first time.


Helloween hail from Germany and ...
...have gone through many changes - some members sacked, some quit and some forced to leave due to ill health. 'Gambling with the Devil' is their thirteenth album and the line up is a follows:


Andi Deris - Vocals
Michael Weikath - Guitars
Sascha Gerstner - Guitars
Marcus Grobkopt - Bass
Dani Loble - Drums


I eventually gave up on growing my hair, it just got too curly at the back, ... more

Picture, if you can, a young man wearing jeans and leather, trying to grow his hair, but finding he looked more like a poodle than a rock star - which is probably what he was trying to portray (the rock star, not the poodle). Well, that would-be rock star impersonator is me and it is hard to believe that that man was once I. It was around that era that I discovered Helloween for the first time.

Helloween hail from Germany and their first album was released in 1985. Since then they have gone through many changes - some members sacked, some quit and some forced to leave due to ill health. 'Gambling with the Devil' is their thirteenth album and the line up is a follows:

Andi Deris - Vocals
Michael Weikath - Guitars
Sascha Gerstner - Guitars
Marcus Grobkopt - Bass
Dani Loble - Drums

I eventually gave up on growing my hair, it just got too curly at the back, and for a short period I gave up on Helloween. Years pass in life and change occurs. The band changed too much in the early nineties - I won't go into too much detail, otherwise I would have to write a book about it! Suffice to say, they let the fans down. Seeming to realise this the band sacked the vocalist at the time and Andi Deris became lead vocalist. From that day on they gradually grew back to what they once were. Over the last four albums it has been a joy to purchase their latest album and this 2007 effort is no exception.

We begin with Crack the Riddle, a narration-at-the-casino type of intro that lasts less than a minute. It does not do much for me, but it leads quickly to:

Kill It (4.13). This is a stomping, rocking track, screeching vocals and anthem-like chorus. It grinds and it harmonises - it is classic Helloween. Fantastic guitar solos from the lead axe-men.

The Saints (7.04) caries on with the stomping rock, slightly gentler and with more harmonies. It is a great song, with a great chorus. It is a bit like an electric drill with a soul - I suppose…

'Are you…
Possessed, in your mask, and dirty heart.
Unrest in ye must've been the devil in all of us…'

A piano begins As Long as I Fall (3.39), a gentle and very accomplished song. It still stomps and it rocks all the same. This was a single and given the right airplay it might have done okay.

Paint a New World (4.25) is next. This is a bit of a filler, but it is still okay. Chunking guitars.

Final Fortune (4.44) chunks along, with a haunting piano and guitar into. Then it's onto a thumping bass and a grinding song. Not a bad song, a good accompaniment to the rest of the album.

The Bells of the 7 Hells (5.22) begins with another haunting intro, but the rock soon begins. I love this riff, very air guitar. Great screeching and fantastic chorus. Classic Helloween and immediately likeable.

Fallen to Pieces (5.52) is one of my favourites. It is quite an emotional song, but the band do not lose their identity. A gentle beginning and a sad little riff, slowly building up to a crescendo…

'I run high and low,
I'm fallen to pieces.
My heart cried for you,
I'm fallen to pieces.'

I.M.E. (3.44) is a bit of a silly song - the old 'I want to do what I want to do and you can't stop me,' type of thing. Musically it is fine, but one of the weaker tracks.

Can do It (4.29) is similar and is another weak track - mind you, it is still better than watching the X Factor…

Dream Bound (5.56) is an anthem-like song with harmonised guitars that lead to classic Helloween guitar playing. It's… okay.

Heaven Tells no Lies (6.56) is a stomping song to round off the album. Another of the best on the album…

You might well have guessed by now that Helloween are a metal band. There has been so many ways to describe such music over the years - thrash, speed - and this band have been all these categories. If you like quick music, with lots of guitars and lots of pretentiousness, this is for you!

These guys look the part too - long flowing locks, but not a poodle hair style amongst them!

For those of you who know Helloween, this album carries on along the same vein as the last few albums and I think that this era of Helloween is the best yet.

All song were written by Helloween.

Produced by Charlie Bauerfeind.

Recorded in Spain and Germany May - July 2007. 

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