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August 29, 2008 |
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HELLOWEEN - Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy
SPV/Steamhammer (2005) |
7.5/10 |
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Disc 1
01. The King For 1000 Years
02. The Invisible Man
03. Born On Judgment Day
04. Pleasure Drone
05. Mrs. God
06. Silent Rain
Disc 2
01. Occasion Avenue
02. Light The Universe
03. Do You Know What You're Fighting For
04. Come Alive
05. The Shade In The Shadow
06. Get It Up
07. My Life For One More Day
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If you're any kind of European power metal connoisseur, you'll concur when I state that HELLOWEEN are among the most well-known (and most respected) institutions of the genre. I can remember back in 1985 when the band's self-titled debut EP hit the stores, followed shortly thereafter by "Walls Of Jericho" - both classic examples of HELLOWEEN's high-ranked contributions to metal. I would argue, though, that both "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" (parts I and II) were the most monumental and unforgettable releases of their career - even to this day. The musical brilliance of those two albums (fueled mainly by Kai Hansen, Michael Kiske, and Michael Weikath) gave HELLOWEEN long-lasting notoriety within metal's hierarchy. However, a couple of nasty flops ensued ("Pink Bubbles Going Ape" and "Chameleon") and it seemed that the glory was fading. Also during this time period, two of HELLOWEEN's key components left the pack.
Guitarist/songwriter Kai Hansen went on to form GAMMA RAY and Michael Kiske was replaced by Andi Deris. Nevertheless, HELLOWEEN marched on just as time does, and they've put out some really good material during the "second phase" of their career. "Master Of The Rings" was pretty decent, as were "Time Of The Oath" and "The Dark Ride", but if you ask me, "Better Than Raw" is clearly the BEST post Kiske-era HELLOWEEN album - period.
But before I get sidetracked too much here, I want to get back to the subject at hand. I'd like to state, once again, that both "Keepers" albums were definitive releases. With that, let's fast forward to 2005 - the present - now. HELLOWEEN have a new album, entitled "Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy". Five some-odd months ago, news of this third installment of the "saga" had me pretty interested, but also skeptical at the same time. My first thought was "Keeper 3? In 2005? It's been 17 years since "Part 2" for Pete's sake!!!!" Considering the different styles HELLOWEEN have experimented with on the last several albums, I really thought that going back to the "Keeper" era would be somewhat of a risk. I mean, first off, Michael Kiske is no longer in the picture, so right there the band would not be able to achieve that distinct sound (no disrespect to Deris as his voice is unique and powerful in its own way). Second of all, the lineup has changed considerably since the old days.
In fact, the only two remaining original members are mainman Michael Weikath and bassist Markus Grosskopf. Again, no disrespect to the other current members, but when you look at it closely, calling the album "Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy" - and making it memorable enough to live up to the "legacy" of the other two "Keeper" albums - certainly places a heavy responsibility on the band to make it something great.
So let's analyze this thing, shall we? The album cover is quite impressive. It features the same cloaked figure (the "Keeper") that was on the first "Keeper" album - guarding the "keys" from evil (in this case, it's a busty she-devil). The album includes two discs with 13 tracks in total (6 on the first, 7 on the second). The songs themselves, well.... there's quite a variety of material here. There are several tracks that are traditional-sounding HELLOWEEN - epic landscapes, blistering fast guitar work, thunderous double kick, wailing vocals etc. - but there are also some different elements and styles, and some that just plain don't fit in with the theme. I'm jumping ahead here a bit, but it's important that I make this comment before we touch upon anything else. The songs on the two discs combined are all over the place, essentially making the flow rather inconsistent. Let me explain: picture a graph with an unbroken line displaying the rise and fall of each individual song.
Disc 1 holds a steady high rise, with a dip showing up near the end, then jumps back up a little bit. Disc 2 is a little more all over the map. It starts at a relative high, then experiences some hefty tremors (I'll announce the song titles later on), again putting a real damper in the consistency level. Are you with me so far? Now, onto the songs.
Opener "The King For A 1000 Years" is absolutely killer. It begins with a 45-second narration featuring a sorcerer-type voice speaking with an English accent (very "Lord Of The Rings"-ish) followed by a female chant (which is a little irritating). Building up from there, Deris launches the near 14-minute song into a definitive epic with a soaring vocal pitch, then taken over by crushing guitar and thundering drums. From there on, it's a chain-driven, riff-filled, melodic, vocally-diverse expression of pure HELLOWEEN mastery. The best part of this track is the time-change at 5:34 with a memorable Weikath-forged riff accompanied by hymn-like drums and keyboards. Deris hits one hell of an impressive high range at the end as well - VERY nice. "Invisible Man" is another great fast one, although I'm not too crazy about the bridge (sounds too "jazzy"). I think if they omitted that part then it would flow more steadily.
I also like the melodies here - really good stuff. "Born On Judgment Day" is extremely fast while "Pleasure Dome" slows things down slightly with some different time changes to keep it interesting. Deris again hits some very impressive soaring highs near the end. Track #5 is where I kind of raise an eyebrow. "Mrs. God" (the first single) sticks out like a sore thumb with respect to the overall theme. Just as you think the first four tracks are going to stick to the same path of greatness, "Mrs. God" cuts a big hole in the consistency. While the song is quite catchy and has some cool riffs, I just don't understand how it has anything to do with "Keepers". This song would have fit well on let's say "Rabbit Don't Come Easy", but not this album. However, "Silent Rain" gets right back to the steamrolling speed - very cool fretwork. My only complaint about this one is Deris' distorted voice near the ending.
Remember how the intro on HELLOWEEN's debut EP sounded? You know.... the guy trying to find something decent to listen to on the radio? Well, disc 2 starts off in the same way. The intro to the 11-minute "Occasion Avenue" features someone channeling through "Eagle Fly Free" (from "Keeper Part 2") and "Halloween" (from "Keeper Part 1") and a live version of "Keeper Of The Seven Keys". Onto the song itself - pretty good - has a few different tempos throughout. I prefer the faster parts with Deris singing "Follow your heart, follow your dreams, follow the path that shines for you." It has some great axe solos as well - really good stuff. "Light The Universe" is the album's ballad. The chorus is very melodic and enjoyable to listen to, but I'm not keen on the female vocals (featuring Candice Night of BLACKMORE'S NIGHT). She does have a nice voice, but it doesn't fit the song well. "Do You Know What You're Fighting For" puts a real pothole in this album.
Its funky rhythm does not blend in well with the rest of the songs. It sticks out like a sore thumb, just like "Mrs. God". Again, this would have been better to throw on "Rabbit Don't Come Easy". The same can be said about "Come Alive". It's just too out of place to share the same space with the aforementioned ass-kickers. However, "The Shade In The Shadow" sheds a light of hope with its more recognizable HELLOWEEN characteristics - fast-riffage, double kick, anthem-like vocals, etc. So with the graph sitting at about mid-level, "Get It Up" drops it down considerably again, but the grand finale "My Life For One More Day" shoots the line up higher with the same type of ingredients as songs like "The Shade In The Shadow" and "Invisible Man". In the end, if you can picture the graph I've been describing, you'll see that it begins at a very high reading, drops a bit, climbs a notch or two, then again drops for a while, up again, down again, then finishes on the upward climb.
In the end, I have mixed feelings about this album. On one hand I find myself very satisfied with the end result, and on the other hand, I stand somewhat disappointed to an extent. In terms of the overall idea of the project (essentially the album title), I think this is a classic case of too little too late. It's been 17 years since the last "Keeper" album. Not to sound overly opinionated, but I think it would have been wiser for HELLOWEEN to do a "Keeper 3" a long time ago - like right after the last one. But who knows? Maybe the creative juices for a third one were not flowing at that particular point in time. I just think that calling the album "Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy" was a mistake. I say this for two reasons: 1) it puts a lot of pressure on the band to match the success of the previous two, and 2) there is always the risk of not living up to the fans' expectations.
My overall impression is that if the band would have named this album anything BUT "Keeper Of The Seven Keys - The Legacy", the consistency level ("Keeper"-wise) would have been less important, thus feeling more "in place". I don't know. I'm sorry to say this, but this just doesn't have that same "feel" as the previous two "Keeper" albums did.
Musically speaking, though, the majority of the songs fit the bill. If I were to personally hand-pick the tracks that I think would have comprised the best "Keeper 3" album they would be "The King For 1000 Years", "The Invisible Man", "Born On Judgment Day", Pleasure Dome", "Occasion Avenue", "Light The Universe", "Silent Rain", "The Shade In The Shadow", and "My Life For One More Day". That would pretty much sum up my list of favorites here. I'm sorry, I hate to be critical, especially when it comes to a band like HELLOWEEN, because for the most part, they put together a very decent recording. I just think they came up short in a few ways, and the whole title thing is the major issue here. Some have said that this is the strongest HELLOWEEN have been in 10 years. I disagree (see "Better Than Raw"), but the band have produced some good stuff on this album.
Now, in conclusion, to quote Michael Kiske from "Keeper 1", "Now that you've made your choice, follow the sign."
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