Band:	Helloween
Album:	Unarmed - Best Of 25th Anniversary
Style:	Power metal
Release date:	December 16, 2009
A review by:	Baz Anderson

01. Dr. Stein
02. Future World
03. If I Could Fly
04. Where The Rain Grows
05. The Keeper's Trilogy
06. Eagle Fly Free
07. Perfect Gentleman
08. Forever & One
09. I Want Out
10. Falling To Pieces
11. A Tale That Wasn't Right

One of Germany's most successful bands of all time along with the likes of Scorpions and Accept, Helloween are celebrating their 25th anniversary in style. Unarmed is not just any compilation album, this is a disc of completely re-recorded and re-arranged songs from throughout the band's history. It will certainly catch you off guard as the band put on their smartest suits and jazz it up with this compilation of acoustic rock versions of all your favourite songs.

You'll be looking at Helloween from a completely different perspective with this release. Some of the songs fair better with their acoustic rock make-over than others, for example this slower version of "Where The Rain Grows" transforms the entire song entirely from the joyful, original version. The suave "Perfect Gentleman" might also even suit better in this style. Either way, with this disc you will be waiting in anticipation for the next song to see how it has been adapted and re-worked in this style.

Realistically, if you are new to Helloween you're not going to start with this release. This compilation is in no way an indicator towards the rich history of the band, and is therefore restricted entirely to the enjoyment of the band's loyal fans.

Perhaps the most re-arranged composition on Unarmed is "The Keeper's Trilogy", which sees the band team up with the Prague Symphony Orchestra for a symphonic rock mash together of "Halloween", "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" and "King For A 1000 Years". The seventeen minute-long opus works well, but unlike the other re-worked acoustic songs on the disc, this song does not deviate so far from the original versions other than the stylistic change from metal to rock.

Helloween have been around for many years now, and this compilation offers a breath of fresh air to the Helloween approach. We have all heard these songs a million times before, and this disc allows you to enjoy these classics as if you had never heard them before. The band don't need to please anyone, and Unarmed gives the impression of the band taking a step back and having a bit of freedom and fun with these songs. This isn't something for newcomers to the band, but it can be refreshingly enjoyable for the old fans.