Список групп Melodic Power Helloween Gambling with the Devil

Helloween’s 2007 release : “Gambling with the Devil” : is a stunningly refreshing piece of metal mastery.

The MVP, if you will, is Sascha Gerstner for actually getting the accomplished Michael Weikath to step up his game and apply himself in both the classic Helloween and new school Power metal styles.

The song, “Fallen To Pieces” showcases this blend, complete with multiple movements featuring a range of tempos and a rousing background vocal bridge. “Kill it” is as heavy as it gets, coming in perfectly after another trademark introduction, followed by two high flying and awe inspiring anthems in “The Saints” and “As Long As I Fall”.

Most of the songs can stand up on their own, but all of them benefit from a new philosophy by the band to make all of these compositions team efforts as evidenced by the omission of indiviual credits.
Another X factor to the success of this album is the keyboard team of Amon and Ulmer. They, along with new drummer Dani Löble, have added new and exciting shots of sonic over and undertones throughout all of the tracks. Even though most of these songs compliment each other due to their varying range of speed, tone and pitch, the best decision I think the band made is not including an Andi Deris ballad.

Say what you will, but I will contend that “Gambling with the Devil” is better off on the whole without one. Deris, it should be pointed out, comes up very - very strong on this album. The bass lines, brought on by Markus Großkopf, are finally featured fairly in relation to the other members, perhaps giving the strongest example of a new found cohesion production-wise.
Altogether, there are no filler songs, and the end result is Powerful and awesome.

“Gambling with the Devil” is not only the album Helloween afficionados have waited for, but also an excellent record for any fan of heavy metal.

Helloween is a band for which art can only express itself through some kind of experimentation. This approach has led to the less popular album of the German pumpkins, “The Dark Ride”. Nevertheless, that album was for me their only really great one since the famous ‘Keeper Of The Seven Keys part I & II”. And as of today, after two extra albums more (“Rabbit Don’t Come Easy”) or less (“Keeper Of The Seven Keys – The Legacy”) dispensable, the band is back with a new offering that will surprise many!



Indeed, “Gambling with the Devil” reveals how brilliant Michael Weikath and his henchmen are, as well as it depicts a touch of nostalgia… Because, this album shows similarities with the very good and very aggressive “Walls of Jericho”. This feeling is given by the title opening the ball, “Kill It”, first true good surprise of the album: Deris and his voice are in great form. He is indeed proving us how Powerful and skilled a vocalist he is, clearly competing against his British alter ego Rob Halford! Deris seems particularly easy in this style and one can feel a spike of orgasm all along this dynamic and impressive song. The remaining songs are of that same rough vein, the whole sounding very similar to the first album of the Teutons. Maybe this can be explained by the rapprochement of Gamma Ray and Helloween… Whatever the explanation is, this return to the roots is quite enjoyable, as Judas Priest is a band I really appreciate a lot, as I do of the Germans. Some titles may sounds a bit like some old standards such as “The Saint” which is close from “I Want Out” or “Silent Rain”. Similarly, “Dreambound” and “Paint A New World”, for example, are also quite typical of what the quintet produced in the past. It is again the case with “The Bells Of The Seven Hells” which are anchored in a past which seems to reappear violently in this year 2007… On the contrary, “As Long As I Fall” and “Final Fortune”, softer, send us back in the present time and show the large talent of each musician. Furthermore, these songs are more than welcome, as they calm the tension and the frenetic rhythm reigning all along the album. The other titles are also excellent and carry the mark of the cucurbitaceae. So, there is no surprise to expect there. The sound is very clear and energetic, sometimes a little limited to the old, but at the same time so modern, style because it was produced again by Charlie Bauerfeind, the best producer of the Old Continent. He succeeded in giving a grandiloquent and grave sound to this album and in capturing the essence of Helloween. A real performance one must salute!



Since 2005, Helloween has revealed us its renewed taste for its past (a title such as “Keeper Of The Seven Keys – The Legacy” had already given us a hint about that). But, one could not imagine how important the influence of the first albums is on the current line-up inspiration. This new album signs a clear return to the future and it will impress for sure all of those following the band since its beginning with Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske. It’s really a huge surprise in the shape of a fountain of youth, which will send us back to the listening of the classical albums of the band. A very successful shot indeed! ES-SEN-TIAL!!


Translated by Heavyboy