Helloween "Ride The Sky - The Very Best Of The Noise Years 1985-1998"

Best of including both regular tracks and b-sides from Helloween's nine releases on Noise Records from 1985 (Walls of Jericho) to 1998 (Better than Raw) plus the two tracks featured on the label's Death Metal compilation and two songs released in 1985 before their debut album, on the Helloween EP, in chronological order.

The cover art depicts the respective releases. 

Disc 1:

- Tracks 1-2 Death Metal Demo (1984)

- Tracks 3-4 Helloween (1985)

- Tracks 5-7 Walls of Jericho (1985)

- Tracks 8-10 Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I (1987)

- Tracks 11-15 Keeper of the Seven Keys Part II (1988)

Disc 2:

- Tracks 1-2 Pink Bubbles Go Ape (1991)

- Tracks 3-4 Chameleon (1993)

- Tracks 5-7 Master of the Rings (1995)

- Tracks 8-11 The Time of the Oath (1996)

- Tracks 12-14 Better than Raw (1998)

The physical version comes with a full-colour booklet of 16 pages with photos and previously unreleased footnotes.

Disc 1

1. Oernst of Life 04:46   
2. Metal Invaders 04:33   
3. Starlight 05:17   
4. Murderer 04:26  
5. Ride the Sky 05:55   
6. Gorgar 03:55   
7. Judas 04:39   
8. I'm Alive 03:22   
9. Future World 04:02   
10. Halloween (Video Edit) 05:00   
11. Eagle Fly Free 05:08  
12. Dr. Stein 05:03   
13. March of Time 05:13   
14. I Want Out 04:40   
15. Keeper of the Seven Keys 13:36  

Time:  01:19:35

 

Disc 2

1. Kids of the Century 03:52   
2. Back on the Streets 03:22   
3. Step Out of Hell 04:20   
4. Get Me Out of Here 02:48   
5. Where the Rain Grows 04:44   
6. Why? 04:06   
7. Mr. Ego (Take Me Down) 06:59   
8. Steel Tormentor 05:39   
9. Wake Up the Mountain 05:02   
10. Power 03:28   
11. A Million to One 05:10   
12. Hey Lord! 04:06   
13. Time 05:42   
14. I Can 04:39   

Time:  01:03:57  

Helloween "My God-Given Right"

My God-Given Right is the 15th studio album by German power metal band Helloween. It was released on May 29, 2015.

It is their seventh consecutive album produced by Charlie Bauerfeind, and their first album released under the label Nuclear Blast since 2003's Rabbit Don't Come Easy.

In October 2014, the band announced they were working on a new album for a May 2015 release, with Charlie Bauerfeind producing, to be recorded at Mi Sueño Studio on Tenerife. On February 26, 2015, the band released the name of the album, as well as the May 29th, 2015 release date. According to guitarist and founder Michael Weikath, there was no particular reason for the change of labels other than "plain business".

In April 17, 2015, "Battle's Won" was released as the first single of the album, premiered on Team Rock Radio UK tonight on the Metal Hammer Magazine Show. Days later, Nuclear Blast USA had the premiere of the second single "Lost In America". This song, along with "Battle's Won" were available for instant download only with the album pre-order in iTunes.

The album is considered by the band as a "back to the roots" album, while still keeping some modern elements.

When the album was announced, Weikath said it would be "just good old classic heavy metal the way it's supposed to be". He added: "[The album] it's more open to the public. I wouldn't say commercial, it's more friendly. That was also what Charlie wanted to do, it's typical of '80s Helloween and modern Helloween at the same time. We didn't want to worry too much about concepts and what to do, and just be the ones that we are. We just wanted to do what we stand for, what we're known for. And that works out very very good I think." He also said the album would be either "one of the best-sold albums or also one of the most criticized by the syndicate side of fans that are there".

Weikath and vocalist Andi Deris agreed there would be "haters" to pan the album, but they intended to keep a "liberal attitude towards heavy metal: to do anything we want — and not follow the directions the know-it-alls would have pushed on us. We remained unfazed and acted out our vision of 'anything goes' in the songwriting process to 'My God-Given Right' because we believe that it is our god-given-right (no pun intended) to do as we please and fulfill our musical vision without any boundaries." Deris also said the album is an attempt to please all generations of fans.

The band composed 33 or 34 songs for the album and had producer Bauerfeind and his team chose the ones that would form the final track list. Deris explained the method by saying:

“ [...] we told them not to give us the choice, because when you write a song, it is your baby, you love it to death. If somebody in the band comes and tells you I don't like it, you have a problem inside the band and nobody is that cool. It hurts. So these decisions should actually be done by other people, they like what we do. [...] It's much better than having t [sic] bands killing themselves, like we did in the earlier days. ”

The cover art depicts a "pumpkin army" around a The Day After Tomorrow-like, buried-in-the-snow Statue of Liberty. It was once again created by Martin Häusler and it's also available as a 3D lenticular print, visible without 3D glasses. Deris remarked that the cover differs from previous covers because it features little color variation. According to Häusler, they "tried to build a world of ideas, keeping the 'classic Helloween' elements, like the pumpkins on the one hand and a complete new look on the other. [...] A first inspiration came from the album title, My God-Given Right', and some of the song titles, like "Swing Of A Fallen World", "Lost In America", "Battle's Won", etc. During my research, I stumbled upon the blockbuster Day After Tomorrow and the idea of just leaving the world to the 'pumpkins' was born." Deris later explained that the cover reflected Häusler interpretation of the album title, as he understood the name as a reference to a rebellion or something like that. However, the real inspiration for the title (which is also the title of a song) came from words from his father:

“ 'My God-Given Right' was actually from my father telling me on finishing school and I did not know what to do with my life. You have a big question mark over your head, what should you do? I definitely had that dream of making music like so many kids have, but I was very fortunate to have a father who completely backed me up. He said 'you're my only son – if I see you happy, you make me happy and it's your God-given right to do what you want with your life, or at least give it a try. And whatever you do, I'm behind you.' And my own son last year was more or less asking me the same question, so it went back to the days with my father. I told my son what his Grandfather told me and I thought it's a beautiful title for a song. ”

In a later interview, he deepened his thoughts, explaining he didn't feel like following "the leader" and "the rules" like a "good German", but instead wished to follow his own dreams. He also referred to the many Germans of his generation that committed suicide, which he blames on them not following their dreams.

When asked about the lyrical themes in the album, compared to the world issues covered in songs from the previous album Straight Out of Hell, Deris explained that the band didn't want a pessimist album to mark their 30th anniversary, but cited songs such as "Swing of a Fallen World" and "You, Still of War" as examples of tracks that stay out of the "Happy Happy Helloween" spectrum. Also according to him, the songs go through the members' lives.

The opening track "Heroes" refers to everyday heroes, like poor people having to "fight each day to survive and have something on their tables", people asking for a penny on the streets and those who make any act of kindness. "Battle's Won" was defined as a song "about those ladies and gents that make their money trading lives for weapons".

Inspiration for the title track is the same for the album title. It received a promotional video directed Oliver Sommer of AVA Studios. The video depicts a female warrior fleeing and defending herself from an army of "robotic pumpkin soldiers" until she is cornered and decides to throw them a bomb shaped like the torch of the Statue of Liberty. The wastelands and abandoned industrial areas in which the video is set exist in real life in Germany. According to Sommer, the video is purposely reminiscent of post-apocalyptic films. Intercalated with those scenes, the band is seen performing nearby.

"Stay Crazy" touches the implications of them being a band and being considered not "normal" people because of that, and is also something of a reflection of their past 30 years and how they want to stay like that. Deris compared it to their Master of the Rings-era songs. "Lost in America" recounts a real story involving the band. They were at an unspecified airport, and their flight was canceled, forcing them to wait 17 hours for the next one. When they finally took off, the pilot eventually announced something was wrong with the airplane and they would need to fly back to the airport, since they didn't even know where they were - they were "lost in America". Bassist Markus Grosskopf also said the band drank so much beer that some members of the flight crew had to tell them to stop. The title of the song actually refers to the Southern part of the continent.

"Russian Roulé" is a word play involving Russian roulette and "rock and roll"; it talks about finishing school and not being sure about what to do with life, based on Deris's own experience of aspiring to be a musician and most people not taking him seriously. Guitarist Sascha Gerstner described "The Swing of a Fallen World" as the darkest track on the album and, like Deris, identified some Black Sabbath elements on it, while Deris compared it to their The Dark Ride-era songs. "Like Everybody Else" had parts recorded during the Straight Out of Hell sessions. It was written by Gerstner about some people not understanding him since he was a child and about one just trying to be themselves in spite of people trying to pinch them.

"Creatures in Heaven" conjectures about whether heaven exists, where it is located and what kind of creatures inhabit it. Weikath, who wrote the song, said he tried to capture the essence of old hard rock clubs in the track's intro. "If God Loves Rock 'n' Roll" has the band proposing the theory that God likes rock 'n' roll and heavy metal, or "otherwise he would not have us and all the others do what we are doing", as Grosskopf said. Deris confirmed it as a Kiss-influenced song.

"Living on the Edge" follows a boy who "loses grip in society" and eventually sees no other choice than to become a criminal and how he fails in having society recognize him as a non criminal later. "Claws" draws influences from Led Zeppelin's "Achilles Last Stand", Heart's "Barracuda" and Pink Cream 69's "Livin' My Life for You". The song talks about an unspecified flying object or being that flies around looking for its prey.

"You, Still of War" is the ending track of the regular album and the longest of all editions; it tells the story of a nuclear bomb that is the only survivor of a war. Deris explained:

“ That's very serious song. Bombs speaking to the last survivor of the mankind so it's a very brutal theme actually. Which could automatically happen if we step time back where we came from. Because we all grew up during the 80's, and the new generation don't even know about all those things, about a feeling that we had with all Russian and American nuclear shit going on and actually sometimes we in Germany thought that, okay if something happens we are wiped off from the map anyway, because when a war takes place it would be somewhere in mid Europe and mid Europe is Germany so we all grew up with that knowledge that tomorrow could be the last. ”

Track listing
Regular album

1. "Heroes" Sascha Gerstner 3:53
2. "Battle's Won" Michael Weikath 4:53
3. "My God-Given Right" Andi Deris 3:30
4. "Stay Crazy" Deris 4:04
5. "Lost in America" Deris 3:35
6. "Russian Roulé" Lyrics: Deris / Music: Deris, Gerstner 3:52
7. "The Swing of a Fallen World" Deris 4:53
8. "Like Everybody Else" Gerstner 4:03
9. "Creatures in Heaven" Weikath 6:36
10. "If God Loves Rock 'n' Roll" Deris 3:20
11. "Living on the Edge" Markus Grosskopf 5:19
12. "Claws" Weikath 5:52
13. "You, Still of War" Lyrics: Gerstner / Music: Gerstner, Deris 7:21

Total length: 61:11

Limited Edition bonus tracks

1. "I Wish I Were There" Deris 4:11
2. "Wicked Game" Gerstner 3:56

Digital & Japanese Editions Bonus tracks

1. "I Wish I Were There" Deris 4:11
2. "Wicked Game" Gerstner 3:56
3. "Free World" Markus Grosskopf 3:34

Earbook Edition Bonus tracks

1. "I Wish I Were There" Deris 4:11
2. "Wicked Game" Gerstner 3:56
3. "Nightmare" Grosskopf 4:43
4. "More Than a Lifetime" Grosskopf 3:55

Helloween "Straight Out Of Hell"

Straight Out of Hell is the 14th studio album by German power metal band Helloween. It was released in 2013 and produced by Charlie Bauerfeind.

Regarding the songs, guitarist and founding member Michael Weikath stated:

“ Straight Out of Hell is the consequent development of the two albums before. The new songs are a continuation of the 7 Sinners directives, only less doom-bound and noticeably more positive. These songs will kick even the laziest listener's ass. ”Three months after the album release, he commented on it again, saying he thinks it is "kind of very accessible for the listener. And it's a fun album. It's an album that doesn't give you the creeps or annoys you or whatever".

Andi Deris confirmed that Straight Out of Hell was intentionally made to be a "happy" Helloween album. This was, according to Deris, partly in response to the band's darker material during the previous 10 years, and partly out of the band's interest in releasing a positive album in light of the failure of the 2012 Doomsday Prediction.

War and peace are the themes of the first two songs. Opening track, "Nabatea", refers to the ancient Nabatean Kingdom, which exists in modern Jordan. Andi Deris explained that Nabatea is "a nation which...was probably the only country which never brought war to other countries". A music video was shot for an edited version of "Nabataea". By contrast, the acceptance of conflict by the modern world consumes the second track, "World of War", which explores how contemporary humanity takes war as inevitable and seemingly cares little about the casualties, according to Deris.

Faith is addressed in "Far From the Stars", with bassist Markus Grosskopf explaining that the strength of one's belief, whether associated with a religion or not, is essential for survival. A different tack is taken on the last track, "Church Breaks Down", which highlights the Church's actions throughout the centuries such as its refusal to adapt to scientific developments such as the theory of evolution.

Several songs deal with the follies and occasionally strange beliefs of humanity. "Burning Sun" is more light-hearted, introducing a protagonist who, according to Weikath, dreams of steering a spaceship into the Sun. A version of the track featuring a Hammond organ (performed by Helloween session keyboardist Matthias Ulmer) was dedicated to the late Deep Purple organist Jon Lord and is included as a bonus track on the limited and Japanese editions of the album. On the other hand, "Waiting for the Thunder" is a piano-driven song about an unrepentant man, after doing wrong, simply awaits the punishment rather than trying to make amends. Deris conceded that, "I know sometimes I'm that guy".

In addition to the dedication of the Hammond organ version of "Burning Sun" to Jon Lord, Helloween dedicated "Wanna Be God" to the late Freddie Mercury of Queen due to its affinity to the Queen's stadium rock track, "We Will Rock You". Previously on December 12, 2012, Metal Shock Finland's Chief Editor, Mohsen Fayyazi, compared the drums of this track with a traditional Brazilian folk rhythm and also he wrote "It seems they wanted to wear QUEEN‘s shoes, as this track sounds like “We Will Rock You” by QUEEN to me"

The title track toys with heavy metal clichés while "Years" fixates upon life and death, and "Make Fire Catch the Fly" discusses the fear of rejection that may cause a person to never profess love for another.

Track listing:

Regular Album

1. "Nabataea" Andi Deris 7:03
2. "World of War" Sascha Gerstner 4:56
3. "Live Now!" Deris, Gerstner 3:10
4. "Far From the Stars" Markus Grosskopf 4:41
5. "Burning Sun" Michael Weikath 5:33
6. "Waiting for the Thunder" Deris 3:53
7. "Hold Me in Your Arms" Gerstner 5:10
8. "Wanna Be God" (dedicated to Freddie Mercury) Deris 2:02
9. "Straight Out of Hell" Grosskopf 4:33
10. "Asshole" Gerstner 4:10
11. "Years" Weikath 4:22
12. "Make Fire Catch the Fly" Deris 4:22
13. "Church Breaks Down" Gerstner 6:06

Limited Edition Bonus Tracks

1. "Another Shot of Life" (limited edition bonus track) Grosskopf 5:13
2. "Burning Sun (Hammond version)" (limited edition bonus track; dedicated to Jon Lord) Weikath 5:34

Japanese Edition Bonus Tracks

1. "No Eternity" (Japanese bonus track) Grosskopf 3:34
2. "Burning Sun (Hammond version)" (Japanese bonus track; dedicated to Jon Lord) Weikath 5:34

Release dates:

- January 16, 2013 - European 2 LP edition

- January 16, 2013 - Japanese standard and limited SHM-CD editions (Victor)

- January 18, 2013 - German standard and limited editions

- January 21, 2013 - European standard and limited editions (Spinefarm Records)

- January 22, 2013 - US standard and limited editions (The End Records)

The album placed third on German music charts.

Tracks 1, 6, 8, 12 by Deris

Tracks 2, 7, 10, 13 by Gerstner

Track 3 by Deris/Gerstner

Tracks 4, 9 by Grosskopf

Tracks 5, 11 by Weikath

"Burning Sun (Hammond version)" is dedicated to Jon Lord.

"Wanna Be God" is dedicated to Freddie Mercury.

A video was made for (an edited version of) "Nabataea".

"Nabataea" includes a few seconds of effects in introduction, additional verse and extended solo in comparison with radio edit.

Nabataea was an ancient kingdom in North Arabia.

Recording information:

Recorded and mixed at Mi Sueno Studio, Tenerife.