Helloween have always been one of the best kept secrets in hard music. While they had a brief glimpse of the mainstream in the 1980’s, they didn’t start churning out their best music until the 1990’s, when they had been relegated exclusively to the Heavy Metal genre. Unarmed celebrates the band’s 25th Anniversary by offering fans new versions of some classic Helloween tunes that feature saxophonists, pianists, Gregorian singers, and the Prague Symphonic Orchestra.
It’s tempting to perceive this as an extension or new adaptation of the acoustic album (which featured Helloween songs) former singer Michael Kiske released a couple of years ago but it is far from it. Surprisingly, Unarmed is chocked full of Pop Rock song arrangements with a couple of gigantic epics thrown in for good measure (most notably the symphonic “The Keeper’s Trilogy”).So, this album takes some getting used to in a Pink Bubbles Go Ape kind of extreme. These arrangements are very, very different and very, very commercial for the most part.
It took me a few listens to get used to it but the third or fourth time around my mind started to change. The new versions of “Dr. Stein,” “Perfect Gentleman,” and “I Want Out” are the highlights. The guitar tones on “I Want Out” are ridiculously awesome and this version of “Perfect Gentleman” is every bit as good as the original (and one of my all-time favorite Helloween tunes) but for totally different reasons. Basically, you’ll be tapping your toes and snapping your fingers and bobbing your head without even realizing your doing it. The music just creeps into your psyche. Of course, “The Keeper’s Trilogy” is the undisputed highlight simply because of its super ambitious nature (featuring the Prague Symphonic Orchestra and the Gregorian singers I mentioned earlier).
The only really down moments here are a pretty boring version of “Where the Rain Grows” and the symphonic “A Tale That Wasn’t Right.” Both seem fairly weak compared to the rest of the album but perhaps they just haven’t grown on me yet. Unarmed is an interesting way to celebrate an important anniversary of a band that has done what they wanted, when they wanted, throughout their entire career and that alone is enough reason to pick up this unique release.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
