Helloween - 7 Sinners (2010)

The peak of the heavier Helloween era is the 2010 release "7 Sinners", an album that capped of 10 full years of Helloween embracing their tougher side, giving their fans something different to what they had been used to from the band's early career. Still, "7 Sinners" took the band's mind set, and kicked it into an even higher gear, ultimately giving us something that could have easily been a thrash metal record, if it was not for the classic power metal elements that Helloween always brings to the table. Question is though, is this album a sinner, or a winner?

The two opening tracks sets the stage instantly, with "Where The Sinners Go" kicking it off by out right stealing the main riff from Dream Theater's "A Rite of Passage", and a heavier tone to it, and then creates a kick ass song around it, with a cool solo and all. Then we have "Are You Metal?" (what a silly question, of course I am), which just goes full force at you with aggressive keyboards, a mad Andi Deris pushing his vocal chords, and an even sweeter guitar solo than the last one. It is a start you will not forget in the nearest future, putting quite a significant mark on the listener.

While the rest of the record never reaches those levels of face melting heaviness, there is still enough in here to keep the personality of "7 Sinners" solid. "Long Live The King" has a main melody ripped straight out of Testament's book of thrash metal, while "Far In The Future" goes more for a apocalyptic theme, to foreshadow the impending doom of the record (it is the last song). Do not expect though to see Helloween going full thrash metal though, because this is a power metal through and through, acting on most of the same strategies that Helloween have used over the years.

Even if the heavier tracks take over, there is still a lot of great quality in this just under an hour record. The energy is surging in a steady pace throughout the record, pumping your adrenaline in a constant flow, save from the slower "The Smile of The Sun". This album is simply packed with memorable and catchy tunes, such as "Who Is Mr. Madman?", "The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner", and "World of Fantasy". Then there is "Raise The Noise" that take it to a whole new level, not with the 80's styled chorus that is easy to scream out. No, this song is memorable simply because it has a flute solo. That's right, a god damn flute takes over and starts showing off, completely out staging the guitars, and I freaking love every second of it.

"7 Sinners" does have a couple of dips, like "You Stupid Mankind" and "My Sacrifice", but this album is all and all a really solid release by a band that took a swing, and while it would not have hurt if they had amped up the heavy bits even more, it still does the job. Most of the songs in here are still of good quality, making "7 Sinners" one of the more pleasant experiences in the Helloween catalog. This is certainly no fool, nor a sinner, it is a full fledged sage that puts a marvelous spell on its listener.

Songs worthy of recognition: "The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner", Are You Metal?, Raise The Noise, Long Live The King

Rating: 8/10 Worlds of Fantasy

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