HELLOWEEN – Straight Out Of Hell

Helloween is unquestionably one of the founding fathers of German Power Metal. They have delivered many different distinctive and identifiable forms of music throughout the years, and have remained one of the most influential bands in Metal. They are now releasing their fourteenth studio album, Straight Out Of Hell, which is arguably one of their most aggressive albums in quite some time. There is a clear intensity that has been missing on their last few albums, and Straight Out Of Hell has made up for the flatness and more.

The album starts out with a bang on the fiery opening track “Nabataea.” Multiple themes are used to tell about this ancient Middle Eastern civilization, which makes it very resembling a good old fashioned Power Metal classic. During this track and many of the others on this album, you’ll hear lead singer Andi Deris stretch out his vocal ability to a higher register, giving the compositions an increased amount of energy and excitement. This is an element that was missing on their last couple of albums that unfortunately left many listeners thinking Deris was fronting a bad impression of AC/DC’s Brian Johnson.

Straight Out Of Hell is really unlike anything Helloween has produced in the past. Founding member and guitarist Michael Weikath describes the album simply as “these songs will kick even the laziest listener’s ass!” It’s almost like someone lit a fire under them and provided a rejuvenated fresh start. Andi Deris is clearly on top of his game throughout the entire album. There is more passion and desire heard from him here than on their previous albums. Deris provides an artistic key that lifts the entire band to another level.

One of the best songs on the album is “Waiting For The Thunder.” This is a highly inspirational track delivered with force and vigor. Although the composition itself might be considered simple compared to some of the other complex songs, this is a straight forward explosion that carries all the elements of a classic Power Metal attack.

Of course, no Helloween album would be complete without the signature guitar sounds from Michael Weikath. Having been with the band since its inception, the fast-paced riffs he produced that were commonplace on their albums from 1980’s have made a glorious comeback on Straight Out Of Hell. Like Deris’ vocals, the guitars seem to have considerably more energy on this album than its predecessors.

Straight Out Of Hell is straight out of the fire for sure. Helloween pulled out all the stops with this album to create something very magical. Longtime fans of the band needed this exceptional effort from them to keep their taste buds wetted. German Power Metal just got a much needed facelift with Straight Out Of Hell, and now fans will see how long it takes for others to catch up.