633. Helloween / Master of the Rings. 1994. 4.5/5

After the critically panned and sales failure (although they got my money) of the quite dreadful Chameleon, Helloween had a lot of work to do to regain the faith of their fans and the heavy metal community as a whole. The complete change of direction of that album caused fans (particularly me) a lot of heartache, and one could only wonder if they could ever return to the heady position they had once held.
The victims of the fall out were lead singer Michael Kiske (who in the years since his departure has been lumbered with much of the blame for the direction that Chameleon took) and drummer Ingo Schwichtenberg, who tragically took his own life a year later. In their place came in former Pink Cream 69 lead vocalist Andi Deris, and former Gamma Ray drummer Uli Kusch.

The instrumental intro of "Irritation" kicks off the album, before the raucous beginning of "Sole Survivor" signs with intent the revival of Helloween from the outset. The superb tub thumping from Kusch and a heavy guitar riff blasts the album immediately into the right direction. Andi Deris announces his arrival in emphatic fashion, his vocals punching through with passion, and the album is off to a great start. "Where the Rain Grows" is a great follow up, again played at a great pace, and the real "happy" guitars that made Helloween what they were in the late 1980's. You get that old uplifting feeling from these early tunes, a quality that had gone missing on recent releases.
"Why?" comes out as a rather scathing lyrically based song, questioning why it is that if an omnipotent being exists, why does it not stop all of the harm that is occurring in the world. As Andi Deris' first stand alone composition for his new band, it makes quite a statement. The same is true of "Mr Ego (Take Me Down)", another lyrically hard hitting song that is backed up by great music, though on a less vibrant note. At over seven minutes it is progressive not only in style but in length, and perhaps it overstays its welcome a little. What really comes through on these songs is that not only has the band begun to rediscover some of their early mojo, they still have the ability to make a statement without ramming it down your throat.
"Perfect Gentleman" is not only the most surprising song on Master of the Rings, it is also quite possibly the best. It mixes heavy guitar with light keyboards, genuine enthusiasm with pointed lyrics, and sung in the blinded belief of the honest opinion. The performance of Andi Deris, playing the part of the 'genuine man' is marvellous and makes the song a gem because of it. You can only imagine that this was a biography of someone the authors of the song knew.

Even given the highest quality that the first half of this album provides, the terrific songs keep coming into the second half. "The Game is On", "Secret Alibi" and "Take Me Home" are all good songs that don't quite reach the heights of those earlier, but are more than just average songs.
As an avowed abhorrer of power ballads on any metal album, it comes as much of a shock to me than anyone else that I love "In the Middle of a Heartbeat", as big a power ballad as you could ever hope to hear. And yet, it is performed so well, and sung with such passion that you cannot help but like it. On an album full of surprises, this was a pleasant one.
The album concludes with "Still We Go", an almost biographical song that comments on the rise, and fall, and (hopeful) rise again of the band. Roland Grapow excels in these kind of songs, and here he is at his best. Great stuff.

My edition of this album came with a bonus CD, that not only contains Roland's own "Grapowski's Malmsuite 1001" as a tribute to his hero Yngwie Malmsteen, but other excellent B-side material "Can't Fight Your Desire", "Star Invasion" and "Silicon Dreams". It also has cover songs such as "I Stole Your Love" by Kiss, "Cold Sweat" by Thin Lizzy and "Closer to Home" by Grand Funk Railroad. All of these songs appear on the singles released form the album.

The style of Master of the Rings is caught somewhere between an out-and-out power metal release and a progressive rock element, with an assortment of songs that on the whole, combine to make a terrific album. Needless to say it is a vast improvement on its predecessor, and though many of the songs have great riffs and terrific drumwork as well as Deris’ awesome vocals, it is different again from anything the band has produced before. It is however a stepping stone, and one on which they make significant progress on as they move forward over the next three albums.