|
My review of the Helloween album The Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy
The Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy, The world of entertainment seems to be filled with terrible 3rd installments these days. X-Men 3, Pirates of the Carribean 3, Spiderman 3, Shrek 3, Bat Out of Hell 3. It’s times like these when I wonder if the human race is simply no longer able to make a decent trilogy. And then I listened to The Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy and ate my words. Helloween have made a truly poetic Fantasy epic. As you can imagine by the title, The Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy is the third installment in the Keeper of the Seven Keys trilogy which was started back in the 80’s. I should also add, in case you don’t remember, but the first two Keeper of the Seven Keys albums are considered to be two of the very first power metal albums (especially the second one). There are several key differences between this album and the last two albums though. The first and most obvious one is that Michael Kiske is no longer the front man for Helloween. However, in my opinion, this isn’t a bad thing. I personally think that Andi Deris’ voice is better then Michael Kiske’s (I know this is a very controversial statement but hear me out). Even though Kiske does have a much higher range and capability then Deris, to me that doesn’t necessarily make him a better singer. What I feel that Deris has, that Kiske doesn’t, is a very unique and interesting sounding voice, which is very interesting to listen to. Kiske just sort of sounds like a modified Bruce Dickinson. I’m not saying that Kiske is a bad singer, I think Kiske is a great singer. I just like listening to the way Deris’s voice sounds more then Kiske’s. A similar statement like this could be made about Tobias Sammet, I absolutely love him to death and I think he’s a very talented singer, like Kiske, but his voice isn’t particularly unique sounding (he also sounds like a modified young Bruce Dickinson). Another key difference between this album and the past Keeper albums is that this one isn’t revolutionary. The original Keeper albums practically invented the Power Metal genre. This album doesn’t do anything like that. However, that is not to say it’s a bad album. It’s an incredibly good album, even better I’d say then parts of the original two Keeper albums. But it’s not revolutionary. The musicianship on this album is good and varied. It’s extra heavy on tracks like ‘Occasion Avenue’ and then soft on songs like ‘Light the Universe.’ The band have definitely created some great riffs (mostly chord based). There are lots of changes with in the songs also, which just gives a testament to how much creativity and ideas the Helloween gang still have kicking around in their heads. The lyrics of the album are great. Power Metal is no stranger to Fantasy themed songs, and this album doesn’t disappoint in the continuing of the Fantasy epic that is the Keeper of the Seven Keys saga. However, the Fantasy lyrics are actually very well written and never come off as comical or overtop like so many other Fantasy themed songs end up being. Not all of the songs are Fantasy themed on the album though, and the subject matter of the songs isn’t always on the Keeper story (like on the other Keeper albums). However even though the song lyrics may drift from the Keeper subject, the musicianship in the songs makes the album feel well connected though. In end, The Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy is a diverse, talented, entertaining and un-revolutionary experience. I can’t wait to hear what they do next. -Awesome McCrunchFist Here are the music videos that Helloween has released for the album:
 Add as favourites (50) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 2181
AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze |
