Band:	Helloween
Album:	Better Than Raw
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	1998
Guest review by:	stratorock666

Disc I
01. Deliberately Limited Preliminary Prelude Period In Z
02. Push
03. Falling Higher
04. Hey Lord!
05. Don't Spit On My Mind
06. Revelation
07. Time
08. I Can
09. A Handful Of Pain
10. Lavdate Dominvm
11. Midnight Sun

Disc II [2006 Expanded Edition]
01. Back On The Ground [Previously Japan Only bonus]
02. A Game We Shouldn't Play [Taken from 'I Can' single]
03. Perfect Gentleman [Live Bootleg Version. Taken from 'Hey Lord!' single]
04. Moshi Moshi Shiki No Uta [Live Drum Solo. Taken from 'Hey Lord!' single]

Now, this Helloween lot. A bit unreliable aren't they? They change from album to album, not necessarily always in a good way. "The Time Of The Oath", this album's predecessor was an out and out Power Metal record, more to the style of their original "Keepers..." albums than the albums that came before it. After "?Oath" came this album, "Better Than Raw", and by comparison it is unfocused and patchy. This is still a good album with some classic Helloween tunes on it however. It just isn't as good as its predecessor and, like I said beforehand, suffers from a lack of focus a little bit. The lack of focus doesn't relate to the fact that there is a wider array of styles on this album, it is a good thing that there is variety and that they did not make another album exactly like "?The Oath". But most of the time, it simply feels as if it's a bunch of sounds and ideas thrown all over the place, and as a result the album does not feel as complete or as cohesive as "?The Oath", or hey, even "Master Of The Rings". In fact I don't think I would be exaggerating in saying that this at times feels like a superior b-sides and rarities album. But, as I have said before, this is not a bad album, not at all. The unfocused nature of the album does take the shine away a bit, but underneath this glaring problem is some excellent songs and good variety. Some of the excellent tracks on this album include "Push", which has a blistering main thrashy riff and some excellent nasty high pitched vocals. Push is quickly followed by another classic, "Falling Higher", which is all-in-all an utterly typical Helloween song. It's chorus and basically the melody throughout the song is unbelievably catchy and powerful. "Revelation" is another awesome track with a heavier sound, like Push before it. It also has a great melody, coupled with some fine restrained vocal work from Deri. Also of note is the slow, but excellent, almost slightly depressing "Time" and the endlessly 'humable' and happy sounding "Lavdate Dominum".

Now, what about the performances? Well, everybody here seems in particularly fine form, and Andri Deri's vocals seem higher in the production this time around. He gets more of a chance to shine, and given the variety of the material on hand, he gets a chance to show off his range. Although I don't think he is anywhere near Michael Kiske's league, he does a damn fine job here, managing to be powerful, emotional and sometimes even slightly menacing when the situation calls for it. The axe-work on this album is maybe just a little better than "?The Oath", although the riffs aren't quite as memorable. Overall, this is a very good album, with some great songs but as I have said before, lacks real focus, and suffers a little bit because of it. It also contains a couple of very weak tracks, such as "Hey Lord" and "I Can". Mainly good stuff all-round though, and a worthy addition to any Power Metal collection.