Light the Universe

Compulsive CD shopping is a risky business, but it can be an excellent way to uncover some real gems that otherwise would be missed. Although I make it a habit of owning whatever I can get my hands on by Helloween and other bands that I constantly obsess over, the latest Helloween singles have proven to be a safe bet for getting my money’s worth. At first glance, this single looks like its all fluff and so substance because it contains the token ballad of the current album as well as a live version of their most popular song from “The Dark Ride”. And while I am a steady consumer of everything Blackmore’s Night and think very highly of every song that came off the last album with Uli and Roland in congress, the last song on here is what really blew me away.

One thing that the current Keeper album lacked is a truly crushing riff monster like the kinds that we heard back when Kai Hansen was carrying vocal duties. “Revolution” is probably the first genuine riff machine that I’ve heard from the band since the previous line-up split, featuring a main guitar line that reeks of vintage speed metal. The chorus is pretty catchy, somewhat similar to the closing track on the 3rd Keeper album “My life for one more day”, but the guitar lines steal the show and dominate the mix. For those who were a little disappointed that Gershner had taken most of the leads on the latest LP, on here he gets a lot more licks in. The biggest surprise is that Markus Grosskopf wrote this song, as on previous releases his songs didn’t tend to be so guitar dominated.

The only real problem with this single is that if you didn’t care for the song it features and were not a real fan of “The Dark Ride”, you’ve only got one song to make it worth purchasing, but for this one song it is definitely worth getting unless you are able to download it off of Itunes or some other site. If this song is any indication of where the band intends to go with their next release, I think a lot of older fans of Helloween who have not been pleased with the post-Kiske music will be very pleased.