HELLOWEEN is a rather odd band, if you really look across their history and discography. I mean, for starters, you have masterpieces like “The Dark Ride,” which the band didn’t even like when it came out, but then you have oddities like “Rabbit Don’t Come Easy“ that nobody cared about, yet the band thought was more to their taste. And then there are releases like “Chameleon“ that outright confused everyone. Needless to say, they’ve been an extremely hit-or-miss band since their inception, but their hits are truly some of the best classic metal out there. Now, when it comes to anniversary reviews, there’s nothing quite so fortuitous as being on a nostalgia kick, so this effort to blast myself with the past recently brought me to revisit HELLOWEEN‘s “Master of the Rings,” which was released on July 8th, 1994, making it 30 years ago today! Known for being the first album to feature Andi Deris on vocals and Uli Kusch on drums, it’s often cited as one of the band’s best releases, and for good reason!
The album admittedly opens on a bit of a strange note with “Irritation,” which is an intro track that doesn’t really, in any way, depict what the album is like… nor does the song sound remotely irritable. Rather, it sounds a bit like the band was doing a bit of “Peer Gynt” or something, with a very bright and shiny opening. Perhaps it was used to juxtapose against the hard and heavy “Sole Survivor” that kicks off the album properly. I’ll admit that I never found it strange when I was a teenager, but on this relisten I was a little bit “wait a minute… what?” on realizing how unusual the intro is.
Now, “Sole Survivor” is the first song on what I consider to be a 6-song streak of absolute goddamned bangers. There’s a reason this is considered one of HELLOWEEN‘s best albums, definitely. This one begins with, just… a whole bunch of guitar solos. It’s great. It then gets a little more hyper before mellowing out as Andi‘s vocal wailing comes in. It really sounds like he was showing off his stuff on this first release. The transition into the lower vocals in the chorus works nicely, making for a solid first track with a lot of great musicianship.
I recall a point in my life when a fellow I was dating refused, for about a week, to listen to anything other than “Where the Rain Grows,” and while it was excessive, I did kind of get it. It opens with more solid melodic riffing that changes its melody a few times, before the vocals return. I’ve always wondered what the effect used on Andi‘s voice is in the bridge – some sort of echo? It’s a technique they use frequently with interesting outcomes. Even though the guitars are essentially just striking cords in the chorus, there’s something a bit entrancing about it; you don’t always need to dial things up to 11. Also, there’s just a lot of great soloing in this one.
“Why” was one of those songs that resonated with angsty young teenaged metalheads, plus it has all of the aforementioned awesome inclusions, like great vocals, solid instrumental work, and interesting lyrics to boot. More recently, I learned that “Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)” was written about former vocalist Michael Kiske – it brought NIGHTWISH‘s “Bye Bye Beautiful” to mind (and they say that only rappers write diss songs, heh), and it’s nice to see that some of these folks have made up as the decades have gone on, as Kiske is back with the many-members current iteration of HELLOWEEN. The song itself is a good one – I certainly had a few people with whom I associated it in my youth. The opening beat is slower and really catchy and enticing, with overall more of a groove than a power metal kick like the previous tracks. It’s a nice shake-up and in a good place on the album to change the vibe a bit. Also? It boasts some nice bass lines, and you’ve got to appreciate when the bassist gets to work a bit.
“Perfect Gentleman” was another song that I recall associating (very sarcastically) with some people I knew back in my teenaged years. Again, this isn’t the speediest song, but it’s interesting and catchy, so it sticks out and sticks with you. Now, one of the songs that always stood out to me was “The Game Is On,” and in hindsight, I find this a bit amusing. This is a song about the original Nintendo Gameboy – I recognize the sound effects from the game, because I had the game that they’re sampling. Incidentally, I do really like the way they used the game’s music and sound effects in this track. However, if you listen to the lyrics, I’ve never been convinced that this was a pro-Nintendo song; rather, it’s always given off more of the “boomer doesn’t get video games” -vibe, lyrically. So, musically I really like this song, but I have a few questions about the words, safe to say.
“Secret Alibi” keeps up the quality level of music that’s been on display so far, which is perhaps why it’s just a little less striking – it comes later on the album so it had a lot of great songs to contend with. It’s a little slower and less interesting in the verses, perhaps, but it picks up nicely in the bridges. There’s some good guitar chugging following the choruses as well. Funky drumming then opens “Take Me Home,” which has an almost speedy rockabilly feel to it, while remaining otherwise fairly fun and straightforward.
The album gets a token ballad called “In the Middle of a Heartbeat,” and I will say that I loved this as a kid, but if I heard it today on an album, I might write it off as the utmost cheese. However, I do really like the acoustic guitar lines, so who knows, maybe I’m not as subjective as I thought. Also, I do think the lyrics are quite good – this might have been one of my break-up songs at some point, as it seems to be about realizing that there are ways in which the people in question aren’t able to grow together anymore.
Then, various sound effects act as the opener for “Still We Go,” which is the album’s finale. Not wanting to leave on a slow note, they seemed to have gone with another peppy piece to make the listener finish the album wanting more. I will argue that it’s not the most memorable song to be found on “Master of the Rings,” but HELLOWEEN tend to put their most dramatic songs at the end and this fits the bill. The chorus is fun but a bit repetitive, and centers on the old-school high power metal wailing, which is similar to the sound from the verses, making it a bit one-note compared to a lot of the rest of the album’s material. An okay closer, but they’ve done better on many albums since.
Overall, “Master of the Rings” is a 50-minute beast of a release containing mostly killer and very little filler. I’d recommend it as a starting place for anyone who’s curious about HELLOWEEN‘s music and I will vouch that it holds up just as well in 2024 as one of the band’s best releases as it did in the 2000s when I first heard it. It’s got great nostalgia for back in the day and I’ll be happy to revisit it again and again, I’m sure.
Written by Bear Wiseman
Tracklist
- Irritation
- Sole Survivor
- Where the Rain Grows
- Why?
- Mr. Ego (Take Me Down)
Perfect Gentleman - The Game Is On
- Secret Alibi
- Take Me Home
- In the Middle of a Heartbeat
- Still We Go
