Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Helloween - Master Of The Rings (Expanded Edition) - 2006 - Sanctuary Records

Track ListingDISC ONE 1. Irritation 2. Sole Survivor 3. Where The Rain Grows 4. Why? 5. Mr. Ego 6. Perfect Gentleman 7. The Game Is On 8. Secret Alibi 9. Take Me Home 10. In The Middle Of A Heartbeat 11. Still We Go DISC TWO 1. Can't Fight Your Desire 2. Star Invasion 3. Cold Sweat 4. Silicon Dreams 5. Grapowski's Malmsuite 1001 6. I Stole Your Love 7. Closer To Home

A return to glory! After the two failed attempts to re-invent themselves, Germany's Helloween emerged victorious with a new start on "Master Of The Rings". With 1991's "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" and 1992's "Chameleon", the band found themselves at odds over their direction, song craft, and management. Ousting both vocalist Kiske and drummer Schwichtenberg (who sadly took his own life shortly thereafter), the birth of a new Helloween unfolded. By the Fall of 1994 the band had a new vocalist in former Pink Cream 69 member Andi Deris and a new drummer in Uli Kusch. The end result is one of the best entries to the Helloween catalogue and my personal favorite of the band's career.

As a part of the Castle Music "Expanded Edition" series, "Master Of The Rings" gets the full re-master treatment as well as additional liner notes and a whole disc worth of bonus tracks. Among the bonus cuts comes a cover of Lizzy's "Cold Sweat" as well as the Paul Stanley anthem "I Stole Your Love". Folks who were lucky enough to buy the North American limited edition of the release back in 1994 already has this 2CD version, but now with that going at an estimated $25 on Ebay, unlucky fans can now pick the release up on store shelves domestically and at a much lower price.

This was the album that finally saw the two worlds of Helloween collide in mid-stream. The rock ethic of "Chameleon", along with Deris' obvious hard rock background, combined with the fast and furious pace of "Keeper Of The Seven Keys", really showcases what I would consider the first "modern" power metal album. It was after this release that you saw bands start to merge sounds together, probably inspiring bands like Edguy, Shakra, Thunderstone, and the like to firmly accept the fact that power and hard rock can blend into a smooth, delightful beverage.

Note - It is interesting reading the liner notes of this re-issue. Michael Weikath states that this album is conceptually linked to "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" and at one point was meant to be "Keeper Of The Seven Keys: Part Three".



--EC 05.22.06