210. Helloween / The Dark Ride. 2000. 5/5.

By the turn of the century had arrived, Helloween had managed to pull out of the spiral it had suffered from at the conclusion of the Kiske/Schwichtenberg era of the band after the much maligned ‘Chameleon” album, and through the return to their basic structures with the recruitment of Andi Deris and Uli Kusch, they had brought out two albums in “Master of the Rings” and “The Time of the Oath” that brought back the fan base by returning to what they did best, and proving that they were still the master of their own destiny. Alongside Michael Weikath and Marcus Grosskopf and also Roland Grapow, Helloween reversed a downward trend that would have seen lesser bands fold, and yet they climbed back to the top of the power metal tree and continued to ride the wave even as those who had been inspired by them and arrived in the 1990’s decade themselves tried to not only emulate them but pass them by.
Their 1998 album “Better Than Raw” had begun to push the boundaries again, but rather than to a more poppy sound that the band had followed with “Pink Bubbles Go Ape” and “Chameleon”, this album pushed a little harder to be more of a slightly heavier tone while still drawing majorly on the power metal tones they had returned with in the past five years. While the album was still well received, I appeared not everything was as solid in the Helloween camp as they would have imagined.
Some tension arose over the collaboration that two of their members, Grapow and Kusch, had begun to discuss. Away from the business of Helloween, these two had begun to consider putting together a side project, one to work on in the down time from Helloween. The problem arose – depending on which story you choose to believe – because it was felt that they were beginning to pull away from the demands of Helloween and were putting more time and energy into this proposed side project. Grapow and Kusch denied and continue to deny this was the case. Weikath, Deris and Grosskopf though pointed to the fact that Grapow’s involvement in the writing process of the band had deteriorated to almost nothing, and yet he was working on this other side project a fair bit. At the time there was an unsettled atmosphere within the group as a result.
All of this makes what the band produced for their ninth studio album an interesting task to break down. Because from what the band had produced before this album, this was a fairly major starkly different move. And given the tension that appeared to be occurring prior to this album, and then what came after it was released, and the differing stories that continued to fly around, you would think this had been a complete disaster. And yet, the year 2000’s release of “The Dark Ride” is something that is definitely NOT that. Even if it its place within the Helloween discography is still hotly debated by fans and band members alike, it most definitely is NOT a disaster.

There is without question a darker tone in the music and the lyrics on this album. It is what sets it apart from what the band had produced before this in its career. Helloween was the height of speed and power metal at its peak up until 1989, and after the well publicised fall had more or less regained their roots through the mid 1990’s with the release of “Master of the Rings” and “The Time of the Oath”, and become the power metal band was of the genre that they had helped create. “Better Than Raw” had twisted that slightly, but the arrival of “The Dark Ride” brought a whole new tone to the band’s sound, musically and also in the starkness of the black and white cover of the album.
In looking at this album in depth, it is important to note that, despite the rumbling conflict that was a part of the band regarding writing prior to this album, everyone but Marcus Grosskopf contributes to the songs on this album. And you need to look at those writing contributions to see where the album heads, and to try and find where and how the album goes in the direction it does. By looking at the composers of the songs on the album, there is some cause to see where the direction lay.
Michael Weikath wrote “All Over the Nations” and “Salvation”, which are arguably the most mainline Helloween tracks of the album. They are wonderfully toned Helloween songs, the lovely speedy tunes, “Salvation” especially is an uplifting track both lyrically and musically, in the best traditions of what Helloween do. It is another of the best examples of a Weikath song, along with the happy guitars throughout the solo section as well. Andi’s vocals are superbly attuned, the melodic harmony through the middle of the verses are just fantastic, almost offering a combined sing off between each other. I have often wondered in the years since why Roland rarely appears as a support vocalist on the albums, because he has a great voice, and when he sings live it is terrific. “All over the Nations” is again another atypical Weikath track in the post “Chameleon” years. Both solid tracks on the album, both drawn from the same well as the tracks had been over the previous 5-6 years.
As had been becoming the case, the majority of the tracks on the album have the design of Andi Deris, one of his strengths, which is why he had been brought into the band as Michael Kiske’s replacement. Here though he contributes five of the songs plus the instrumental opening piece to the album, by far his heaviest workload since coming into the band. His two tracks that take up the middle of the album are the ones that bring their own path to the album. “Mirror Mirror” takes on the darker side of the oft quoted tale, with Andi’s excellent lyrics delving into the deepening madness of the protagonist as they search the mirror for the answers they seek with the mood of the music conveying that to the listener. It's a well composed and constructed song, with Andi’s layering of his vocals to again almost provide a light and dark interpretation within them of the song’s story being fantastic. This is followed by “If I Could Fly”, the first single released from the album, one that moves between the synth and the distorted guitar, the softly sung lyrics to the more forceful higher strains of the powerful chorus. The lyrics themselves are uplifting, of the protagonist who is looking to better themselves, to rise from their position and chase their dreams. It is a positive message, offered in a slower tempo than most Helloween tracks, and with that transition between light and dark musically. Beyond the tour for this album, this pretty much remained the only song that the band kept in their setlist.
Andi’s final three songs on the album come back-to-back in the back half of the album. “I Live for Your Pain” is an absolute ripper, and here there is more of the dark side of the album and of Andi’s contribution. Musically it follows the track that precedes it with the opening of just bass riff and drums, heavy guitar riffs, moodily sung verses into the spitting pre-choruses and then the hard charging chorus, and riveting guitar solo section. It sets up the song to be a powerhouse track in the change the band creates for this release. Andi Deris, when speaking about the background of the song, said: “This] is a typical relationship thing, when two people actually love each other, but love and hate are so nearby. You can have the biggest love in your life, and the next day you have the biggest war with that person. I think you can only have such a war when you really hate yourself, because honestly you love yourself. It’s such a big feeling that goes on in a negative and positive way between two persons. My question in this song is – how can it be that the person you love the most could be your biggest enemy when you have trouble?”
“We Damn the Night” contains a lot of spiritual imagery in its lyrics, against channelling the themes of dark and light to the album, the music itself again includes periods of brighter scenes along with descending to the depths of the dark. Andi has often used these themes in his lyrics, but not with the addition of the heavier darker themes in the music. More of this follows with the more epically transcribed visions of “Immortal”, Andi’s third of his triumvirate of songs here. Those discussions of light and dark remain lyrically, with: “Tonight we are stars, stars inside the nights of ache, love and hate, hope and shade, take you away, I will take you away”. Musically it is very much drawing on the emotional high points with more keys and synth driving the singing underneath, before the guitars return to prove their worth through the middle of the song. All of these three songs show a devised theme of lyrics and music, one that follows the title of the album. Is there are reason for this? Well, let’s talk about that shortly.
That leaves two songwriters and their contributions to the album, and it is their contributions that seem to be the ones that gain the main criticism or applause, depending on your enjoyment or disappointment of the album. Roland Grapow offers two writing credits on the album despite some internal criticism, and both very much draw on the darker side of the album. “Escalation 666” on reflection feels very much like a stab at his bandmates – which would not be the last time Grapow would use that motivation for lyrical essays. Line such as “Almost everyday you put yourself high on a shelf, whatever you do, wherever you go, never turn my back on you” and “Deceit and malice, every smile hides betrayal and greed, hypocrisy, we've been like brothers, now I hold out my hands to a blood - to a bloodless soul”. How do you try and justify those lyrics to your bandmates? Anyway, the music is also dripping with the same menace that Andi sings the song with, and though the song seems promoted as an attack by the devil or devil’s savant, it seems like it is directed differently. Roland’s other contribution is the title track, the epic closer “The Dark Ride”, which lyrically Grapow sins his tale of good and evil, the traps lain for all who choose to take the ride, the desire for all and yet the light at the end, even as it is stolen away as darkness descends. This is a fabulously composed song, and though Helloween has done amazing closing tracks prior to this album, this is most certainly the darkest. It does mirror the heavy and emotional ride of those tracks, but more than anything else it offers each member of the band to showcase their wares, rums, bass, guitars and vocals. They all offer their best motives throughout this track, and it brings it to its wonderful conclusion.
That leaves Uli Kusch and his barn-burning crack-the-sky incredible final contributions to the band Helloween – the incredible opening tack “Mr Torture” and arguably the best Helloween track since “Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II”, “The Departed (Sun is Going Down)”. “Mr Torture” is unlike any Helloween song before it. The keys and bass guitar rumbling opening before the drums and guitars enter to build to the first burst of vocals crushing this song through the speakers, the power of the tidal wave crashing through with that opening riff underneath and Andi starts the tale. The layered backing vocals through the chorus, the powerful drumming from Uli through the whole song, the guitar solo spiralling down the fretboard. This is a truly amazing opening track after the opening instrumental intro. It introduces the album with the incredible power it needs to say “Here we are, we are Helloween, but this is something out there, something new, and something awesome”. Which, is arguably Uli’s best ever contribution to the band, until you get the “The Departed (Sun is Going Down)”. The opening riff, then Andi’s opening salvo of vocals as the bass guitar comes in underneath followed by Uli’s drums – and then the crash into the song. It is so menacing, so moodily magnificent as it builds through the verse into the pre-chorus, the chant that settles alongside Andi’s singing, and then into the chorus itself. For me, still, shivers down the spine stuff. All of this happens in such an unassuming mid-tempo that draws you along into the track. And Marcus’s bassline in that pre-chorus underneath, you almost wouldn’t notice it if you weren’t listening to it, but it is so incredibly wonderful how it changes the whole focus of the song… it is amazing.
With the album seemingly following a ritual theme of black and white, of darkness and light, with the writing all seeming to go along with that, why then was there an uncomfortableness about the album by the band once the tour was completed? Marcus Grosskopf, in an interview with Metal Rules in 2011, well after this period, perhaps can shine some light on that: “THE DARK RIDE was kind of constructed, with everyone telling us to try this, let’s do that, you know. It’s a good album, but it’s a very difficult way to make records when someone is always getting on your nerves”. This was left to believe that it was Roland and Uli who pushed for this, but the other person who helped with the production on the album was a guy called Roy Z, whose success with Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford has been noted elsewhere on this podcast. Now, if all of the songs were mostly skewed in one direction, lyrically and musically, and there are three writers on the album who have headed in this direction, then that would also need another guiding hand in that decision making process. Was it Roy Z? Is this what Marcus actually meant in his comment? Since the album, it has been left for the pressure to be borne by Uli and Roland. But when you have another member in Andi who write five songs for the album that do also head in the same kind of direction… well… there has to be an agreement there somehow… doesn’t there? In essence – shouldn’t the questions be; who composed the songs on the album? In which case, who was responsible for the direction of the album? And then, if there was disharmony or a disappointment in what was happening, why does the imbalance in those things seem to not be the way you would expect if that was the case?

What is it that makes this album so controversial, so ‘love it or hate it’, so black and white like the cover of the album, so dark or so light? Unlike “Chameleon” which is more universally unliked, whenever discussion arise about “The Dark Ride”, the opinions are almost universally ‘yeah I love that album’ or ‘nah I dislike that album’. Very black and white. A lot of fans praised the heavier direction and dissection of “Better Than Raw”, and yet it is an album I have never really cottoned onto. That was where I felt the band went off on a tangent – several in fact – and while it is nowhere near the “Chameleon” class of average, it is an album I don’t revisit often.
And yet, “The Dark Ride” has an allure that dragged me in from the start. Is it a dark magic? Or did it just offer me exactly what I wanted at the time? I remember travelling to Sydney to Utopia Records with the sole intent of buying this album. I wanted nothing but this album. It was an interesting feeling, especially on the back of how I felt about “Better Than Raw”. But the publicising for the album had been that it was going to have a heavier sound, and all I could think was ’Helloween but heavier? How can that not be good?!’ And I bought it. And I was transfixed from the very beginning. “Mr Torture” blew me away. “Mirror Mirror” was sinister. “Salvation” was pure Weikath magic. “The Departed” just made my heart stop, it was that incredible. The follow up “I Live for Your Pain” follows it perfectly. And the closing title track was epically brilliant. And so I put it on again. And again. And again. The year 2000 had offered me some great albums, and some great comeback stories. “The Dark Ride” followed me everywhere though 2001. It became an obsession. I tracked down a bootleg of a gig the band played in Osaka on 2 March 2001, a gig where there were eight songs played off this album. I love it. And the album just never grows old. I played it everywhere I was for well over 12 months.
I have now had this album out again for the better part of two months. I somehow missed its release date anniversary, and it has still been on my CD player and work playlist since then, because I knew I had to do an episode on this album – but I had to make sure that I did it justice. I know even as I record this that I haven’t done that. Because it is so hard to give an album that has meant so much to me, that I hold in such high regard, the justice it deserves. Also knowing that most of you listeners will not feel the same way I do about it, that many will not only insist it isn’t very good, that it does indeed suck. And I think trying to find a way to make you feel that it DOESN’T suck, knowing all the while that I can’t do that. So I have it my best shot here. I have offered up a reasonable assessment of the songs this album contains and tried to express what makes them so great to me. Knowing agreement will not be coming. And as always, that is fine, because we all have our own tastes, not only of music genres or of bands, of those individual band’s discographies. And I most assuredly respect that. I have argued my case, and you know where I stand.
On reflection of the album, and in the wake of the dismissal of both Roland Grapow and Uli Kusch from Helloween after the tour to support this album, and the absolute ignoring of all material except for Andi Deris’s “If I Could Fly” in live gigs in the years since that tour concluded, as well as the silence in discussion from the band members on what occurred with those dismissals, it makes for a more interesting dissection into the songs on the album taking all of that into the case. Helloween maintained that Grapow not pulling his weight in the writing after earlier albums, the side project of Grapow and Kusch which meant they felt they weren’t concentrating on their main gig, and the difference in their musical direction compared to what the other members of the band wished to head in, contributed to their dismissals from the band. For their side, both denied this and say it was used against them when they wanted them out of the band. Whichever way you go, it was very unfortunate from a Helloween fans point of view, who was also a massive fan of that album. Helloween moved on and have continued to release albums to this very day, though none ever with the same heaviness and darker aspirations as “The Dark Ride”. Roland and Uli formed their proposed side project into their main band which they called “Masterplan”, and hired Jorn Lande to be their lead vocalist, releasing two of the best power metal albums of the 2000’s with their self titled debut and the follow up “Aeronautics”. Perhaps in the long run, we got the best of both worlds.