Dark Ride

Helloween | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 25, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nuclear Blast
• ASIN: B00004ZC40
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,709 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sure is quite a dark ride!, January 25, 2004

By 

Matt Stoessel (Tolland, CT USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dark Ride (Audio CD)

I listened to this album last night and the title track this morning. What a CD! You'd expect them to be writing music different than what the newer bands are up to (Edguy, Sonata Arctica, Dragonforce), but Helloween pleases me. I have Keeper... Part I and love it even more than this one. DO NOT get turned off because of the bands about 20 year career. These guys put out power metal no different than what the modern masters do.

The first thing I must make note of is my favorite song, "The Departed". What a unique song! I love all the evens on the CD - that's it. The opening group of notes should catch your attention. I've never heard another song like it. I just love it!!!

Also on my list of favorites lies the opening song, "Mr. Torture", which has awesome guitarring. A bit short, though (3:30). If I could Fly is okay, but I don't think the music is good enough for the lyrics. The title track is pretty good, but for a closer AND a title track, more should have been done. That song is the longest on the album clocking in at 8:50. The biggest surprises are the ultra-gloomy track 4 and track 10. 4 is great. You don't hear gloomy CDs like this one too much, and to have a song that stands out as gloomy on an already gloomy album says something. This song is so slow and the vocals are so dark... wow! Its another one of those different ones. However, I did earlier say that Helloween is no different from the modern bands, right? Well, track 10 doesn't disappoint you. At the 1:54 mark, one of the coolest "between choruses" starts, and boy is it awesome! Its nothing compared to the likes of "The World Will be Better" by Heavenly, but its my favorite "between choruses" on the album, with "Mr. Torture" (track 2)'s "between chorus" as a close 2nd.

Now for keyboards... They're not that apparent, but this kind of music doesn't need them. Helloween isn't like Brainstorm or Manowar, but more like Gamma Ray. The Departed uses keyboards, but other than that, the vocals and bass are the focus, so keyboards aren't really needed to enhance the sound like they are say with Sonata Arctica. Oh yeah, the cover art is perfect for the gloomyness of this album, which is described well in other reviews. Just believe me when I say that these songs that I mentioned are all different from each other and that there is something here for every true metal lover.

So much has been said about Helloween over time that I just don't know what else to write here. I expressed my opinion like all other times - what else can I do? ...I know... "BUY IT!"

When you do get the chance, say if this review helped you or not and then go read some of my others. Thanks for reading!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helloween at their peak!, November 6, 2000

By 

Michele Beltrame (Maniago, PN, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dark Ride (Audio CD)

Helloween has always been one of my favourite bands. It's however curious how they became really a top level band after they lost their leader (Kai Hansen, who left to create Gamma Ray) and their great singer (Michael Kiske, who left for a solo career). Beginning from The Time of the Oath they've been on a continuous rise, topping in power with Better Than Raw and in quality and melody as well with The Dark Ride. This album is fantastic: songs as Mr. Torture, If I Could Fly, Live for your Pain and The Dark Ride are absolute masterworks, but the others are not so below. GET IT!!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent album!, April 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dark Ride (Audio CD)

When someone mentioned power metal, three bands come out of my mind: Helloween, Accept and Scanner. These bands are the purveyors of aggro-melodic music. But Helloween sticks out like a sore thumb. Many bands have attempted or imitate thier style, but in a long run, they became boring. I've been a Helloween fan since Kai was still singing for them. OK, no more comparison who's the better singer. I could never imagine Mike Kiske singing on this album. Andi Deris is a perfect replacement, he may not have the same range as Kiske, but he gave the vocal part a new direction. The Dark Ride itself is a marvelous concotction of aggro-melodic and darker tones mixed into one album. I do think this surpasses "Time of the Oath" in a million ways. Mature songwriting, excellent showcase of talent. A must-buy!