Helloween – Helloween

This version is a fake! It doesn't exist on the label and the official eshop

It's great album. I really like the high quality, upmarket presentation of this mediabook/slipcase edition. Musically this is their best album since Keeper: The Legacy, even without taking into consideration we got Hansen and Kiske back.

Unfortunately, the production is garbage, like is commonplace with Nuclear Blast and later Helloween albums. Badly mixed, terrible EQ balance and brickwalled to oblivion.

Pumpkins reunite for a high-energy and dense self-titled opus

Released in 2021, HELLOWEEN is the sixteenth album by the standout metal band from northern and is notable for featuring the return of vocalist Michael Kiske, who left in 1993, and guitarist/vocalist Kai Hansen, who left in 1989. With the addition of two (unnecessary) and the fact that it had been a colossal six years since their previous album, it’s no surprise that the album feels overstuffed.

However, as you take the time to wade through the material, various tracks or, at least, bits of tracks rise to the fore, such as “Best Times,” which smacks of a Billy Idol song from the early ’80s, just metalized. “Angels” stands out for its opening & closing verse about having a “dream about forgiveness.”

Kai Hansen sole compositional contributions come at the very end: The 1-minute instrumental “Orbit,” which is basically a prologue to the epic “Skyfall,” which runs a dozen minutes and is one of the highlights of the opus. Hansen lends his vocals to four other songs, including his Painkiller-ish screams on the chorus of opener “Out for the Glory.”

It’s a solid Helloween album, it just doesn’t quite rank with their best ones, like BETTER THAN RAW, GAMBLING WITH THE DEVIL, SEVEN SINNERS and STRAIGHT OUT OF HELL.

The twelve tracks clock in at 1:04:57. There are versions that feature four bonus tracks, such as the Japanese release.

GRADE: B

This is a great album. The reunited group created a Masterpiece for nowadays music! Hope that this is just a new beginning.
The golden version of this album sounds very good, just a little off center on one side, it doesn’t seem to affect sound quality.

It is clearly an overrated album, due to the presence of Kiske and Hansen. It really is a somewhat irregular CD, some songs are very good, others are very weak, and most are only decent. The sound is not good.
The best songs are those composed by Andi deris, in my opinion.
3/5

This Clear/Orange Marbled Edition September 2022 box seems that never existed; probably 2021 Clear/Orange/Black Splatter Edition box unsold stock re-sell with new barcode. Ask photos of the certificate with 500 limited indication, and the Clear/Orange Marbled vinyl color BEFORE buying.

Vinyl is flat and nearly no surface noise....but the sound is muffled, muddy, dull - no life in it.

A pity because the album seems to be cool and the artwork is nice.

I have the picture disc version,it's pressed on thick vinyl, no warped issues here.
Sound is good, with excellent dynamic.
Just wished that i knew how many of these are pressed....

The second disc is so wavy, the pickup is jumping back and back again. Unplayable.
I spoke with the with the shop, they told me, they have two another on storage. They checked and those are wavy too (I received a refund).
Its could be a production error.

Los 2 bonus tracks son buenos temas y merecían estar en el cd1 en lugar de otros temas. La decisión de ponerlos solos en un segundo cd, es bastante estúpida. Supongo que sería cosa de Nuclear Blast. Para matarlos. Entre esto, y que el sonido no es bueno, todavía no lo he comprado.