Let us be honest here shall we? Helloween have made some of the greatest (power) metal music of all time by whatever measurement one cares to use. They have also released their fair amount of utter dross but they have, of recent times been on somewhat of an upward curve. First of all they added to the Keeper Legacy and then they followed it up with a quite splendid live CD earlier this year so the force is clearly with the band and flows through them on this, possibly their best, most cohesive work yet – no mean feat so long into a career! 

That’s not to say that Gambling with the Devil is perfect, oh no. For instance the opening Biff Byford spoken Crack the Riddle is utter tosh but the rest of the album is almost all totally fantastic. The first real song, Kill It, is wonderful and sets the bar very high with top notch performances from all concerned. Not for the first time this year (Primal Fear amongst numerous others) a band has gone for an opener with Halfordesque vocals. The Saints is over seven minutes long and shows that there really is life in these old dogs yet. In some ways this track is somewhat like Dragonforce, but with a Helloween twist and is one of the best things I’ve heard all year. 

The album's first single, As Long as I Fall, is up next and was obviously chosen as said single because of its overt commerciality which mixes a great hook, keyboards and classy melody – very satisfying.  Paint a New World is the one track I haven’t been able to get into thus far as the chorus doesn’t grab the listener as much as the others but that is soon remedied by the appearance of Final Fortune which is almost melodic rock and quite stunning, yet there’s still loads more to enjoy. The Bells of the 7 Hells is another guitar-fest whilst Fallen to Pieces is quite simply epic and I.M.E. has yet another unbelievable chorus and serves to showcase the talents of singer Andi Deris, who is in top form throughout.

Another of my own favourites is Can Do It. The first time I listened to this one I had to check I wasn’t listening to Andrew WK such is the keyboard-driven Wagnerian element to this one – almost worth a ten spot of anybody’s cash on its own. Dreambound and Heaven Tells No Lies round off what is fast becoming possibly the greatest resurrection since Lazarus and, for a band who just a few short years ago seemed dead on their feet,  perhaps world domination may once again be in their grasp.

Buy with confidence if you’ve ever had any enjoyment of the music of Helloween, or if you just plain like good music itself.

Let us know your views on Gambling With The Devil

 Track Listing

Crack The Riddle
Kill It
The Saints
As Long As I Fall
Paint Of A New World
Final Fortune
The Bells Od The 7 Hells
Fallen To Pieces
I.M.E.
Can Do It
Dreambound
Heaven Tells No Lies

Line Up

Andi Deris - Vocals
Michael Weikath - Guitars
Sascha Gerstner - Guitars
Markus Großkopf - Bass
Dani Loeble - Drums