Helloween - The Dark Ride

Too many boring tracks....never understood the love for this one. But as a hello-fanboy, I just cant rate it too low....

Mr. Torture's lyrics are so funny! This is a very good album with Andi Deris! I don't know why people hate him, he's an amazing vocalist IMO!

Written by [user id=135634] on 02.10.2012 at 17:04

Mr. Torture's lyrics are so funny! This is a very good album with Andi Deris! I don't know why people hate him, he's an amazing vocalist IMO!

Agree..imo some people hate him just cos he is not Kiske and dosent have kiskes range of voice..imo album is good..few good track and nothing else!
That dark atmosfere and droped gitar tunes is just not Helloween style

One of the weaker Helloween albums. I was hoping for more after seeing the hype on this website.

Just three highlights, but they are extremely good: 02. Mr. Torture 06. If I Could Fly 08. The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)

Written by Maco on 23.01.2013 at 19:38

I LOVE IT all the songs are great and the vocals are the best thing on this album

I have to disagree with you about all the songs being great: this album is honestly pretty weak to me. "Mr Torture" and "All Over The Nations" are great tracks, but the rest of the songs vary between boring and decent (but not great) to me. Although, if you like "The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)", you might be interested to hear Beautiful Sin's song "Lost": that's pretty much what Uli (who played drums for them) wanted the song to sound like when it was written.

That said, I agree about Deris' vocals being incredible on this album: I actually think The Dark Ride contains some of his best vocal performances on any Helloween album.

Edit: Just realised I forgot to mention "Salvation": that one's also a good track.

Written by Maco on 26.01.2013 at 18:58

Written by Nemo Atkins on 26.01.2013 at 15:51

Written by Maco on 23.01.2013 at 19:38

I LOVE IT all the songs are great and the vocals are the best thing on this album

I have to disagree with you about all the songs being great: this album is honestly pretty weak to me.

alright is your opinion, but for me is the best since keepers

And I respect your opinion. Honestly, I do appreciate what they were trying to do, and I do give them credit for trying it, but I just don't think it turned out that great. That said, I really doubt they would have made their last three albums without this one (and my favourite album by them is 7 Sinners: I never enjoyed the Keepers duo as much as I probably should have), so it's definitely an important album in their discography.

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Written by Maco on 28.01.2013 at 01:15

And I respect your opinion. Honestly, I do appreciate what they were trying to do, and I do give them credit for trying it, but I just don't think it turned out that great. That said, I really doubt they would have made their last three albums without this one (and my favourite album by them is 7 Sinners: I never enjoyed the Keepers duo as much as I probably should have), so it's definitely an important album in their discography.

well im not a big fan of them, i just heard 4 albums... maybe i should listen some more then i can compare more of their late works with this album to see if there is any better or not

Well, I'd recommend you look at Gambling With The Devil, 7 Sinners and Straight Out Of Hell, as that's when they took more cues from The Dark Ride.

This was the ressurection of Helloween. Their best output since the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums. An album that deserves a place in your shelf. Later albums follow the same pattern.

Written by deadone on 23.05.2014 at 04:35


wasn't that dark
(summary)

It's just because the word "dark" is on the title....

I always wondered what it would have been like for Helloween's career had they considered going further down the same route that "The Dark Ride" presented, but then again, I guess that's why I perceive this release to be one of a kind in the band's discography. Coincidentally released in the wake of a new millennium, I guess this suggested Helloween as a more experimental force to be reckoned with. The previous three releases were essentially examples of the band returning to what they were known for in the 80s, yet "The Dark Ride" is a direct turunaround, focussing on groove-inflected riffs and more than just a few ventures into the more dark-tinged territory of goth metal. This album features some of my favourite Helloween songs: 'All Over the Nations', 'Salvation' and the near flawless title track. The album as a whole features a couple of stop-start fillers which threaten to cut the flow (weaker songs like 'Departed' and 'Mirror Mirror'), but it's more than made up for with a once again confident musical delivery. Also, I may be in the minority here, but I think this album reflected Andi Deris' strongest vocal performance in his time with Helloween.

Best songs:
Mirror Mirror
If I Could Fly
The Departed (Sun Is Going Down)

album opens up, after those songs get better and better, I didn't like anything before those

Bad for their standards...

The album has some materials for greatness, but the length works against it. Not all these songs -- especially Escalation 666, Mirror Mirror -- seem necessary at all. Take the best ones, ditch the crap ones and the album looks pretty good. As whole, I don't remember even listening to the album more than a few times, because most of the songs simply aren't anything spectacular.

I used to listen to "Mr. Torture" and "If I Could Fly" shiteloads of times when I getting into "real metal" and these songs seem to stand the test of time very well.

A little bit too long but it's still enjoyable.

I think its...kind of too long. the work is good, but it dont catch me.

It's indeed a bit too long, but it's still one of my favorite Helloween album with Deris on vocals.

Another great Helloween album... no more, no less.

Great great record.. so many killer songs with an overarching atmosphere. There's a few tracks I consider a bit weaker so i'm not sure yet if it's worth a 9, but it's close

Mr. Torture sells pain to the housewives in Spain, he knows just what they crave

A bit overrated, but still a very solid album, nonetheless. My choice of songs: "All Over the Nation", "The Departed", "Salvation" and "Mr. Torture", of course. I like The Time Of The Oath and Better Than Raw quite more, but this one is still very nice, for sure.

Two for one special on controversial takes:
1. This is my favorite Helloween album
2. Andi Deris is my favorite Helloween singer.

Over the years with the countless spins of this album I have under my belt it just sounds perfect. All the songs stick in my mind, Andi sounds great, amazing riffage. I love many of their other albums but this one has always really stuck with me.

Written by Ryanm123 on 30.03.2026 at 20:59

Two for one special on controversial takes:
1. This is my favorite Helloween album
2. Andi Deris is my favorite Helloween singer.

Over the years with the countless spins of this album I have under my belt it just sounds perfect. All the songs stick in my mind, Andi sounds great, amazing riffage. I love many of their other albums but this one has always really stuck with me.

Andy deris is not my favorite Helloween singer, but I agree with you on everything else. This album is perfect to me. I’ve played this more than any other Helloween album. Not a single weak track, something the keepers albums can’t even claim