Helloween - Chameleon review
| Band: | Helloween |
| Album: | Chameleon |
| Style: | Power metal |
| Release date: | 1993 |
| Guest review by: | Spyroid |
Disc I
01. First Time
02. When The Sinner
03. I Don't Wanna Cry No More
04. Crazy Cat
05. Giants
06. Windmill
07. Revolution Now
08. In The Night
09. Music
10. Step Out Of Hell
11. I Believe
12. Longing
Disc II [2006 Expanded Edition]
01. I Don't Care You Don't Care
02. Oriental Journey
03. Cut In The Middle
04. Introduction
05. Get Me Out Of Here
06. Red Socks And The Smell Of Trees
07. Ain't Got Nothin' Better
08. Windmill [demo] [Previously Unreleased]
I got this album as a Christmas gift some years ago. I used to listen to Helloween with my friend and this was the only album we hadn't heard. He paid something equal to 8 dollars (the backside said 30 $m imported from the U.S) which says pretty much about what people think about this album. At first I didn't like it at all because it was not metal enough of course. People seem to look at this album as Helloweens "Risk" or "St. Anger" and they all think it's to much pop/rock and not enough metal. I absolutely disagree, and especially nowadays when I've started to be more open minded with music. In my opinion, Helloween does this kinda music great and much better than most other bands. The daring to do something different - and succeeding (that's what I think) is so unique for power metal bands, Hammerfall for example wouldn't want and wouldn't be able to create something like this.
The extra ingredients that makes this stand out from other good pop/rock stuff is:
1. The muscians. Roland Grapow is a mastermind, I love his guitarwork. Michael Weikath is a great musician, his songwriting is as great in this genre as in power metal. Ingo (RIP) is one of my favourite drummers, he really is underrated. The bass lines are not significant but definitely not bad, and different from a lot of other power metal you can actually hear the bass. The piano played by Tommy Hansen (?) and orchestral arrangements rule. Also, Kiske is my favourite power vocalist. He gives me shivers each time I hear him. Again, awesome guitar work and great guitar solos (check out I Don't Wanna Cry No More).
2. The Helloween spirit is still there (check out the mandatory humour track, Crazy Cat)
The lyrics are really great sometimes, but some of them are actually kinda bad: Crazy Cat is not very intelligent; The First Time is very silly; I Don't Wanna Cry No More (about Rolands dead brother) is pretty cheesy and not very deep; I Believe is pretty boring and about religion (it's my personal "worst track"). The production is nothing extra ordinary but not bad at all like Pink Bubbles.
I sum this up by saying that this is one of the most original and interesting albums made by a power metal band and it's a real favourite of mine. I've even bought the album on LP...
Some songs to check out: Giants and First Time (the only real "power" metal songs), the awesome ballads Windmill and Longing and, well... pretty much the whole album!
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 10 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Spyroid | 10.12.2006
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
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Comments: 40
Visited by: 224 users
| Talvi Posts: 825  |
Yeah, this album is so underrated. Even it's not my favorite Helloween album, it's not half bad. Master of the rings is SO much worse than this. Good review, even though a bit too high rating...
---- My account on other musical pages: http://www.last.fm/user/Pozito/ http://rateyourmusic.com/~Talvi
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023  |
Written by Talvi on 11.12.2006 at 01:12 Agree! Haha ^^ yeah maybe... But I really like this album a lot! Maybe 8.5... 
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by [user id=17278] on 12.12.2006 at 12:57 Yeah  didn't think there would be anyone agreeing with me! Thx for sharing my opinion!
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254  |
i really love this album - it is something different and interesting to listen to i really like most of the songs on the album - i cant really fault the album at all apart from its obvious huge diversion from what Helloween was supposed to be it would get a high rating from me
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| iaberis Advice Troll Posts: 1698  |
Yeah, I want to buy this album too! It's in my "to buy" list! I haven't heard the whole CD yet, but just somne parts I found here and there...
---- Bitch! Please
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by iaberis on 06.01.2007 at 18:00 I haven't heard the bonus disc, but the new release is so expensive and I already have the original - and the LP 
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| iaberis Advice Troll Posts: 1698 |
Well, here usually, the remastered version is around 50% cheaper than the original... so I love the new ones! They sound better too!
---- Bitch! Please
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by iaberis on 06.01.2007 at 23:36 I have to get it!
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| Grey_Dandelion Posts: 132  |
only first time,music and giands remind me the greatness of helloween-overall a rather mediocre music disk
---- Don't turn away just take my hand and when you make your final stand i ll be right there i ll never leave all i ask of you is believe...
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| iaberis Advice Troll Posts: 1698 |
Yeah, Now I've heard it, it's indeed their most pop/rock album! It's even more pop/rock than the Pink Bubbles! But this doesn't mean it's bad  . At least not all of it!
---- Bitch! Please
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
yeh.. like I said up there half a year ago, I love this album. when I get to the track "Windmill" I can never think of anything other then what Ingo apparently used to call it apparently he hated the direction Helloween had taken and always called the track "Shitmill" ..bit of trivia for you there
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| 4look4rd The Sasquatch Posts: 840  |
This album is way too Kiske for me, although I consider him a good vocalist, his attitude pisses me off, and I think that this album is somewhat close to his solo career (popish) it does have some good tracks (and I agree its a bit underrated) but overall this album average or below average, maybe a 6.5 or 7
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| Hyvaarin Posts: 1487  |
Maybe it gets spat on a bit much, but NINE?!?!?! Are you fucking serious?!?!?!?!? Crazy Cat is awesome, but pretty much every other song is completely unmemorable. 7, I can understand. 8, you're really pushing it. But man...9 is just ridiculous.
---- "Summoned By Words Never Spoken Before..."
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Hyvaarin on 27.09.2007 at 16:40 Of course I am. I don't see this as a metal album by a metal band, I see this as a really good, outstanding and totally original pop/rock album. And 10 on originality just because it's released by a metalband. Maybe my overall isn't really as high as nine, but that's what came out after I'd been fair with the ratings on performance, songwriting, production and originality. I really find the mixture between different kind of songs on this album great - there are long songs, short songs, a high amount of catchy "singles", each with a different structure and each glaring at a new genre, there are metal influences, lots of humour, lots of seriousness, great ballads - everything! Therefore I can't understand how you find the songs unmemorable, maybe you should try to listen more to it. I find the songs on this album much more memorable than for example on Time of the Oath or The Dark Ride. I respect your opinion but please don't call mine ridicolous 
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| Zenzero Zenzero Posts: 472  |
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Zenzero on 28.09.2007 at 01:32 Sorry, what do you mean?
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| Zenzero Zenzero Posts: 472 |
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Zenzero on 28.09.2007 at 01:43 Ah, I get you. I don't share your opinion though. Everyone can't have as good taste as me
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| iaberis Advice Troll Posts: 1698 |
Written by Baz Anderson on 10.06.2007 at 00:58 You share his thoughts? I find it a very good song
---- Bitch! Please
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| Baz Anderson Staff Posts: 13254 |
Written by iaberis on 11.03.2008 at 03:44 I like the song as well, indeed - it just isn't very "Helloween" though.. still, that doesn't matter looking back on how everything has turned out - this is still a great album
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| iaberis Advice Troll Posts: 1698 |
Written by Baz Anderson on 11.03.2008 at 10:32 Indeed.
---- Bitch! Please
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| TOUGHEST MEMBER Posts: 3618  |
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| Dowi Posts: 14 |
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| Srdjan Glava Posts: 4  |
I think this is original album but ...no way man...after mad thrashin' Walls of Jericho and masterpieces like Kepper 1 and 2 ...no way...after Hensen left the band...
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| Dark Seraphim Posts: 70  |
If you think of this album not being a Helloween album then it's brilliant, a very catchy pop/metal/rock album. As a Helloween album it's quite confusing. I know that Helloween were at the experimental peak when they released this. I hope no-one who has never heard Helloween picks it up first because they would not get what the band is about. Personally I like the album....but 9 is a little high
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Dark Seraphim on 15.12.2008 at 23:10 I even think it's good for a Helloween album, very even Better than Time of the Oath, Master of the Rings and The Dark Ride, and quite close to many other albums - mainly because it has so many good songs. Keeper 1 is great but there's only six songs if you don't count the quite meaningless outro and the intro. Chameleon contains 100 % more songs, and I like almost all of them - so I think Chameleon can compete quite well about being one of the best Helloween albums. I think I'm pretty alone with that opinion
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| Dark Seraphim Posts: 70 |
Written by Spyroid on 16.12.2008 at 00:48 I meant that it doesn't have a Helloween "sound" to it. It's a good album, just not a good reflection of what the band is like as a whole. There are some great songs on it, "First Time", " I Believe", "Crazy Cats" etc. It a very enjoyable listen, though it did take me by suprise when I first heard it. It is a better album than Master of the Rings and Dark Ride. But not Time of the Oath, love that album. Good review though, sorry, forgot to mention that...
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| Spyroid Rosetta Stoned Posts: 1023 |
Written by Dark Seraphim on 16.12.2008 at 01:27 Well, thanks I agree with you - It doesn't really sounds like their other albums - on the other hand, it's quite hard to believe that Walls of Jericho and Better Than Raw is released by the same band. That's why I like Helloween so much, they're one of the few experimenting, evolving, interesting AND most importantly almost good power metal bands
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it means disgust!!!
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