Hard Vision |
|
Helloween The classic German heavy metal band Helloween could arguably be considered the band who invented power metal as we know it today, or one could even say they were playing power metal before it was invented. But whatever, this DVD is a collection of all their videos. Many Stateside fans may not be familiar with all of these, as Helloween videos are not played all that frequently on US TV, but they are sure to have seen the first two, the classics "Halloween" and "I Want Out", which were regulars on "Headbanger's Ball" back in the day. These songs are taken from the classic "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" albums, and "Halloween" is actually about fifteen minutes long on the album, so of course they cut it WAY short for the video. The clip shows the band playing in the middle of a dark forest while a bunch of circus freaks dance around, including a guy with a pumpkin head (The Great Pumpkin, perhaps?), while the one for "I Want Out" is quite bizarre and trippy, as are many of Helloween's videos. We then go from the renowned to the reviled as the next two videos, "Kids Of The Century" and "When The Sinner", come from the albums "Pink Bubbles Go Ape" and "Chameleon", respectively. Both these albums are, for the most part, universally hated by all Helloween fans, as the band veered far from their classic sound, and perhaps got a bit too experimental on them. I am not familiar with either album so I can't offer my personal opinion of them. "Kids Of The Century" sounded more or less like classic Helloween, but "...Sinner" didn't sound very Helloween at all. It's very poppy, almost Beatlesque, and they use some very unusual instruments in it, including horns and a clarinet. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but when one thinks Helloween, one thinks METAL! The band did get back on track, however, with their next album, "Master Of The Rings", and no less than three videos from that album are featured, those being "Mr. Ego", "Where The Rain Grows", and "Perfect Gentleman". The latter was an enjoyable video, the story revolving around a playboy who thinks he's all that going to a party, showing himself off and annoying everybody, then getting thrown into a trash heap by four girls. Next are "Power", "Time Of The Oath", and the ballad "Forever And One" (a live performance), all from the "...Oath" album; followed by "I Can" and "If I Could Fly" from "Better Than Raw"; and finally, "Just A Little Sign" from "Rabbit Don't Come Easy". This last video has a sci-fi theme with some cheesy CGI effects, but it was probably made than way on purpose, just to make it fun. There is also some bonus material, including an extra video for "Hey Lord" (another live performance), a photo gallery, and a tour outtakes section, featuring the band caught on camera during their touring escapades, having fun and acting silly! This is the first time many (if not all) of these videos have been commercially available, and is the first Helloween home video in years! It's a very enjoyable and complete collection (although nothing from "The Dark Ride" album was included but I'm assuming they didn't make any videos from this album), and Helloween fans should love it! Grab yourself a copy if you're a fan. Or better yet, since Halloween is almost here, go and wait in a pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin, and see if he brings you a copy! |