Nice cover! I have a feeling this one is going to be a particularly heavy effort from the Helloween boys. Cant wait to hear it! xD

Cool stuff! I have still yet to hear a Power Metal album that's really really good this year

Kinda weird and stupid ... these guys just cant do a good cover, can they?
...acourse im still excited to hear it

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 20:26

Cool stuff! I have still yet to hear a Power Metal album that's really really good this year

Ive still to hear the new Angra...

My fave power metal albums this year are probably The Wicked Symphony and Legend Of The Shadowking. But as far as fast/heavy power metal goes, its been pretty barren. Gambling With The Devil was a mostly great album though, and if the new one can top it, I think its safe to say Helloween will be walking off with power metal album of the year. For me anyways. lol xD

@JayXnoogans: What? What was wrong with the covers of the Keeper albums, or Walls Of Jericho? I think Keeper 2 has a great cover... lol

Written by Angelic Storm on 03.09.2010 at 20:35

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 20:26

Cool stuff! I have still yet to hear a Power Metal album that's really really good this year

Ive still to hear the new Angra...

My fave power metal albums this year are probably The Wicked Symphony and Legend Of The Shadowking. But as far as fast/heavy power metal goes, its been pretty barren. Gambling With The Devil was a mostly great album though, and if the new one can top it, I think its safe to say Helloween will be walking off with power metal album of the year. For me anyways. lol xD

@JayXnoogans: What? What was wrong with the covers of the Keeper albums, or Walls Of Jericho? I think Keeper 2 has a great cover... lol

My favourite is actually Royal Hunt, but it was released so early in the year I've forgotten about it until now. The vocals is still such a novelty for me XD

That aside, the second one is Masterplan Wicked Symphony had great songs, but also plenty of filler material that didn't strike my inner chords. Legend of The Shadowking was... good, but not outstanding.

I have not listened to Aqua enough, but it's not very engaging so far.

I really liked Gambling with the Devil, so I have high hopes for 7 sinners, but I'm still waiting to check out Kamelot, so I have no idea how it will turn out

Ah yes... love the keeper 2 cover

Written by Angelic Storm on 03.09.2010 at 20:35

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 20:26

Cool stuff! I have still yet to hear a Power Metal album that's really really good this year

@JayXnoogans: What? What was wrong with the covers of the Keeper albums, or Walls Of Jericho? I think Keeper 2 has a great cover... lol

I just done like em....i guess id say the concept of their older ones were good...but pretty poor execution. I do like better than raws cover alright. love their music though

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 20:26

Cool stuff! I have still yet to hear a Power Metal album that's really really good this year

You should check out Pathfinder's album if you haven't already. I think that's a really good album, not the most original, but still good.

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 20:46
My favourite is actually Royal Hunt, but it was released so early in the year I've forgotten about it until now. The vocals is still such a novelty for me XD

That aside, the second one is Masterplan Wicked Symphony had great songs, but also plenty of filler material that didn't strike my inner chords. Legend of The Shadowking was... good, but not outstanding.

I have not listened to Aqua enough, but it's not very engaging so far.

I really liked Gambling with the Devil, so I have high hopes for 7 sinners, but I'm still waiting to check out Kamelot, so I have no idea how it will turn out

Ah yes... love the keeper 2 cover

I havent heard the Royal Hunt album, so cant comment.

The new Masterplan isnt as good as the first 2 albums, or maybe I just havent listened to it enough. lol I think The Wicked Symphony is the better of the 2 new Avantasia albums, and it doesnt have as much filler as The Scarecrow had imo...

I will check out the new Angra tonight if possible, though Im not really expecting it to be a Temple Of Shadows beater or anything.

Gambling was mostly great (the cover of that was awful though! lol), so Im really looking forward to the new one. Im also awaiting the new Kamelot. Hopefully that will be very good as well. xD

@JayXsnoogans: Sheesh, every guy seems to love the Better Than Raw cover. lol All the ones Ive seen commenting on it say they do anyways...

Written by MeloDeathViking on 03.09.2010 at 21:29

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 20:26

Cool stuff! I have still yet to hear a Power Metal album that's really really good this year

You should check out Pathfinder's album if you haven't already. I think that's a really good album, not the most original, but still good.

I shall do that!

@AS
I love Scarecrow haha Not a filler present, but it might be because it's my first Avantasia album and one of the first few metal albums i listened to, so I am biased

Better than Raw's cover is awesome indeed I probably bought that CD only for that

Their era of good covers has gone away, along with Kiske

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 21:51
@AS
I love Scarecrow haha Not a filler present, but it might be because it's my first Avantasia album and one of the first few metal albums i listened to, so I am biased

Better than Raw's cover is awesome indeed I probably bought that CD only for that

There are some really good songs on Scarecrow, but imo there are 2 or 3 fillers on it. The title track, "The Toy Master" and "Shelter From The Rain" are real highlights though.

Geez, men... lol

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 20:26

Cool stuff! I have still yet to hear a Power Metal album that's really really good this year

New Blind Guardian album is incredible. Far better than Wicked Symphony or the new Masterplan. I can't believe it hasn't been said yet in this discussion...

On the Helloween note, I haven't really been too thrilled with their most recent releases and the compilation album left a really bad taste in my mouth. This cover art looks awful too.

OMG, I cant believe I forgot the new Blind Guardian album! lol (if there was a blushing smiley, Id insert it here ) Yep, that is the best PM album of the year so far. xD

New Masterplan record is extremely boring !

Written by Angelic Storm on 03.09.2010 at 20:35


My fave power metal albums this year are probably The Wicked Symphony and Legend Of The Shadowking. But as far as fast/heavy power metal goes, its been pretty barren.

Gives a good idea of the abysmal quality of music Powermetal has to offer nowadays if those two shitty flowermetal albums represent the best this genre brought this year. Truth is it has spawned all the good it had many years ago. Powermetal just fucking sucks these days.

If it's as awesome as Gambling With the Devil, maybe I'll finally have to start taking an interest in post-Kiske Helloween! Deris' voice is actually stating to grow on me after all these years

Written by Angelic Storm on 03.09.2010 at 21:41

lol I think The Wicked Symphony is the better of the 2 new Avantasia albums, and it doesnt have as much filler as The Scarecrow had imo...

The scarecrow? Filler? Blasphemy! Every song on that album is pure gold (to me at least)

And I'm surprised at how much praise The Wicked Symphony as gotten - to me it's the weakest of all three albums and Angel of Babylon has so many more diverse, memorable tracks.

That's a pretty bad-ass album cover! I can't wait to hear it! =D

Definitely better than the CGI abortion of their last one, but not by much.

I find the cover awfully ugly.

By the way, are you not sick to hear "the new record is in equal shares the fastest, hardest and most melodic piece of work in the bands history" each time a band releases a new album?
Who really believes in this overused sentence anymore? Especially as it is very seldom true in the end.

Written by WorpeX on 04.09.2010 at 00:23

Written by Ag Fox on 03.09.2010 at 20:26

Cool stuff! I have still yet to hear a Power Metal album that's really really good this year

New Blind Guardian album is incredible. Far better than Wicked Symphony or the new Masterplan. I can't believe it hasn't been said yet in this discussion...

I loved the first and last track, but the middle chunk is all not as good.

I still cant decide if i like it or hate it

I like this cover..just hope that the songs will be better then on gambling..few more days and we will see what they did with single

This CD is available for pre-order here:

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/aff/click.cgi/PytJTGW7Lok/2900/A878604/detailview.html?KEY=VICP-64890

Written by RavenKing on 04.09.2010 at 07:27

I find the cover awfully ugly.

By the way, are you not sick to hear "the new record is in equal shares the fastest, hardest and most melodic piece of work in the bands history" each time a band releases a new album?
Who really believes in this overused sentence anymore? Especially as it is very seldom true in the end.

I dont hear that anywhere near as much as "this is our best album yet" by a band before any new album's release.

As for the cover, its very minimalist, but I still like it. There are hidden little details on it if you look closely. lol I prefer the 80's album covers, but its good, and a lot better than their last album artwork. For some reason, it also reminds me of Exodus' new album cover. xD

Written by Angelic Storm on 05.09.2010 at 18:59

I prefer the 80's album covers, but its good, and a lot better than their last album artwork.

I agree that it's better than the CGI abortion they used for GWTD.

Written by Irritable Ted on 05.09.2010 at 19:32

Looking forward to hearing some samples soon.

If it is like the last time they did something a bit different (The Dark Ride) then it will be OK with me.

Whats wrong with the last album cover? It had a dwalf in a hat, what more could you possibly want?

Me too. xD

I have no problems with dwarves in hats, but the CGI one on that cover looked really cheap and tacky. I think that cover would have looked much better painted lol

Pre-reder this CD @ CDJapan:

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/aff/click.cgi/ZRcokempdVE/2900/A878604/detailview.html?KEY=VICP-64890

This i find on blabbermouth.net :


"7 Sinners" is definitively one of the fastest and hardest albums in the HELLOWEEN's history and it bursts with vitality. That might partly be due to the versatility of the various songwriters within the band, who over time have become so homogenous, that the 13 songs formed a unity on their own in the studio , but it may also be due to the fact that the album was recorded completely without a click track, which, considering the extreme speed of the songs is an impressive feat. Especially drummer Löble, who proves that his technique is at a world-class-level. Following his excellent inner clock, bass and drums drive tracks like "Are You Metal?", "Long Live The King" and "Who Is Mr. Madman?" to dizzying tempos. "7 Sinners", with its typically strong melodies and the tangible joy of playing, is a true metal album whose range reaches astonishing dimensions.

It has become a cliche for metal band's to tout their newest opus as their "fastest" or "heaviest" album ever made, but in HELLOWEEN's case, "7 Sinners" is truly a return to form and is indeed their fastest and heaviest release in years. HELLOWEEN bass player Markus Grosskopf stated about the band's new material: "For all those out there who found our special best-of [CD] 'Unarmed' to be too smooth and calm, I have great news: The new album will hit you right in the face! It's gonna be very heavy and contain all [the classic] HELLOWEEN trademarks! Some songs are very powerful and hymnic, others contain the fastest bass-drum patterns our drummer Dani ever played, and this means a lot!"

"7 Sinners" track listing:

01. Where The Sinners Go
02. Are You Metal?
03. Who is Mr. Madman?
04. Raise The Noise
05. World Of Fantasy
06. Long Live The King
07. The Smile Of The Sun
08. You Stupid Mankind
09. If A Mountain Could Talk
10. The Sage, The Fool, The Sinner
11. My Sacrifice
12. Not Yet Today
13. Far In The Future

"You Stupid Mankind" and "If A Mountain Could Talk" are ridiculous song titles. lol I know in the grand scheme of things, titles dont matter much, but they are silly.

Still looking forward to it though, hopefully all the talk about it being one of their fastest and heaviest ever albums, is genuine and its not just hyperbole.

I just hope that the music is great..dont care about song titles much